The lock could see his stay at Sale extended before the end of the year
Exeter Chiefs man Christ Tshiunza is set to join Sale
Wales international Christ Tshiunza could extend his stay at Sale Sharks beyond the end of the season, director of rugby Alex Sanderson has revealed.
The lock has put pen to paper on a one-year contract with the Sharks, and will leave Exeter Chiefs at the end of the season.
However, Sanderson claims Tshiunza’s deal is expected to be extended by the end of the year.
“The one-year is as much for him as it is for us,” Sanderson told Rugby Pass. “It is a long way from where he has been in Exeter and where he was brought up. We want him for a period of time, with him finding form, relocating, and getting married this summer.
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“We both agreed on this; that, in the long term, this has to be the right move on all accounts, and I believe it will be. This just gives him and us the opportunity to make sure it is.
“It is a two-way option, and I do not think it will last past December. We will be able to confirm by then, and I am sure if it goes as we want it to go, he will stay here for a good while.
Tshiunza, who won the last of his 15 Welsh caps in the 45-12 defeat to South Africa in November 2024, wasn’t offered a new deal by the Chiefs, with the PREM side battling to stay on the right side of EQP regulations.
“Christ has been a good player for us,” Chiefs boss Rob Baxter said. “He’s still got a lot of good rugby left in him. But he’s non-EQP. We’ve got to get the balance across the squad so that we make sure we hit our EQP numbers and develop the squad as well as we can.
“We’ve got a lot of good non-EQP players around that pack of forwards, and we just can’t keep stacking them in there. It’s one of those scenarios where we’ve got to try and get value across the squad and hit our EQP numbers, and Christ kind of just falls out of that.”
Tshiunza says he’s excited by the move, which will see him become the latest member of a growing Welsh contingent, with props Nicky Smith and Tomas Francis also signing for the club. Tighthead WillGriff John is also on their books.
“When I spoke to Alex he was talking about how he really wanted to compete for the big trophies and that really excited me,” Tshiunza said.
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“He talked about the plans for the future of the club and it was something that I wanted to be a part of.
“I’ve been at Exeter for a long time and I think it’ll be good for me to experience a new environment with new faces and new players to learn from.”
The move will spark questions over Tshiunza’s international future, with the 22-year-old’s eligibility for the national side next season dependant on whether he was offered a competitive deal by a Welsh club.
Cardiff were believed to have been interested in a move, but he has opted to stay in the PREM for at least another season.