Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has addressed the challenge the club might face to keep hold of man-of-the-moment Christ Tshiunza amid the £5 million salary cap in the English game.
The former Gallagher Premiership champions are waving goodbye to England and Lions forward Sam Simmonds next season, with the back-rower joining Montpellier and some seeing his exit as further evidence of financial fragility in the English top flight.
Attention has now started to turn to Tshiunza, whose displays this season have elevated his stock significantly, with Sunday’s extraordinary effort against Harlequins featuring two tries and 124 metres made from 11 carries — an average gain of 11.3 metres, the most by any forward to make 10+ carries in a Gallagher Premiership rugby match since 2010, according to the stats firm Opta. The company also says Tshiunza is the only player to have made more than 25 ruck arrivals in England’s top tier this term and have a hundred percent effectiveness rate (63/63).
Already capped twice by Wales at the age of 20, the lock or back-row forward is in college in Exeter but there is speculation about where he will play his club rugby in future years. Tshiunza signed a four-year academy contract with Exeter in 2019.
Now Baxter has hinted at the central issue the Chiefs may face, telling the BBC : “Due to injuries and age he's not played much senior rugby and so what you're really seeing is the guy at the start of his career, not even part way through it.
“He's going to be an exciting prospect.
“He's going to be another interesting one to keep hold of with the salary cap, so we'll have to wait and see."
There’s potential in those words to excite those who’d like to see Tshiunza return to the game in Wales. (And you can read more about what Wayne Pivac thinks of the outstanding prospect here.)
Presumably, any one of the regions would welcome with open arms a young forward who stands 6ft 6in tall, has already appeared on the Test scene and can operate at 4, 5, 6 or 7 on a rugby field.
That said, it wouldn't be wise for people to get ahead of themselves.
Although under WRU rules Welsh internationals with fewer than 60 caps who join teams outside of Wales or sign new deals with them become ineligible to don the red jersey., it won't necessarily follow that Tshiunza will be going anywhere.
For it is understood the big man has in place an arrangement that includes extension options which favour Exeter and would not affect his eligibility with Wales.
The Chiefs had a similar rolling contract situation with Tomas Francis which kept him at Sandy Park for six years after his Wales debut before he joined the Ospreys last year.
Nick Tompkins is believed to have signed a long-term contract with Saracens before making his Test debut, allowing him to continue with English club while playing Test rugby for Wales. Similarly, Louis Rees-Zammit penned a package with Gloucester that will not affect his eligibility to play for Wales while under contract at Kingsholm.
And it is thought Tommy Reffell’s position with Leicester is not a million miles away from the arrangements listed above.
There are some who feel Welsh rugby could make itself more attractive to exiled players by bringing about a more stable backdrop to the game here, with the frequent eruptions that seem to punctuate the professional arm of the sport this side of the border not exactly a great incentive for anyone to return home.
“It’s a sh*t show,” one close observer of the Welsh scene told WalesOnline. “There always seems to be something happening that worries players.
“Players don’t like it.
“English rugby has its own problems that are well-documented, but there are occasional periods of calm there. In Wales, that never seems to be the case.”
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