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The 24-year-old will be off-limits to Steve Tandy for at least a year
For all the complaining about the 25-cap rule – and there has been a fair bit – it often seems to be far less important than people make it out.
In the grand scheme of things, the players who have been captured by it – or it’s 60-cap predecessor – are few. First it was Rhys Webb, then Joe Hawkins.
Now it’s Christ Tshiunza. The Sale-bound forward is off-limits to Steve Tandy for the next year, at least – having agreed to join another club in the Gallagher Prem rather than return home.
First things first, if Cardiff’s offer to sign Tshiunza and bring him back to Wales was competitive, then the player can have few complaints with being captured.
That’s not to say the rule is always applied consistently or transparently. All too often, there’s been plenty of confusion around it.
Jarrod Evans didn’t even realise he was eligible to play for Wales until a story was run online saying he was. WalesOnline has also heard of another player that has been deemed to be not captured by the rule – even though, to the letter of the law, he should be.
At times, the much-maligned rule – for which everyone in Welsh rugby tends to distance themselves from – can be chalked down to the simple adage of if Wales want you to play for them, they’ll find a way around it.
Yet, in this instance, it’s done its job. And so, in a year’s time, Tshiunza will have a decision to make.
Of course, the 24-year-old already had a big decision to make. Coming to the end of his time at Exeter Chiefs, with injuries having affected him in recent seasons, he needed something to rejuvenate his career a little.
Obviously, a move to Wales – where he would be looked after as a player of national interest – has its benefits.
But a short-term deal at Sale will offer its own financial rewards – as well as the chance to play in a physically imposing pack.
That’s perhaps the more pressing matter when it comes to Tshiunza. Not the fact that he’s captured, but what he needs to do next.
A late burst of form in the season, capped by a superb solo try against Bath in the Gallagher Prem semi-final, has reminded everyone of the obvious potential that Tshiunza boasts.
But, up until now, it’s not been entirely clear what he best brings to Wales.
Having been brought into the Wales set-up by Warren Gatland as a back-row in 2023, Wales soon favoured him as a second-row.
However, he’s never enjoyed a lengthy run in the side. Only twice – in the 2023 Six Nations and 2024 summer tour of Australia – has he started back-to-back Tests for Wales.
Early on, Gatland wanted him to work on his carrying. There’s also been a sense that he could be more of a physical presence.
Injuries, obviously, haven’t helped his cause.
When he decided to leave Exeter, he had managed just four appearances in the campaign. Since then, he’s played another eight times – being part of Exeter’s run to the Challenge Cup semi-finals and Prem final.
As impressive as that run has been, it’s been done in the back-row – which begs the question, where should Wales play him were he to be recalled?
Perhaps that is what a move to Sale will allow him to work out.
As frustrating as the 25-cap rule will be for the player, he now has a year in the north of England to get fully fit and get some rugby under his belt.
Then, if his form warrants it, there’s time to weigh up whether he’s worthy of a place at next year’s World Cup in Australia.
Then, perhaps more so than this year, Tshiunza will have a big decision on his hands.
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