{"id":496446,"date":"2026-03-26T13:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/496446\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T13:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:28:09","slug":"english-club-announce-signing-of-third-wales-international-as-big-question-now-raised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/496446\/","title":{"rendered":"English club announce signing of third Wales international as big question now raised"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sale Sharks will have four Wales internationals next season, with three of them joining this summer<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_JS352571774.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Christ Tshiunza of Wales\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Christ Tshiunza of Wales(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Wales international Christ Tshiunza will leave Exeter Chiefs at the end of the season after signing a one-year contract with Sale Sharks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The 24-year-old, who can play lock and blindside flanker, was of interest to <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/cardiff\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Cardiff<\/a> but has decided to remain in the Gallagher Prem with Sale for at least another season. Tshiunza only has only won 15 caps for Wales and his eligibility for the national side next season will depend on whether he was offered a competitive deal by a Welsh club.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">That question could have to be answered by the Professional Rugby Board should Steve Tandy wish to select him, although the future of the 25-cap law is surrounded in doubt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">There will be a strong Welsh contingent at Sale next season with Wales props Nicky Smith and Tomas Francis also signing for the club, while tighthead WillGriff John is also on their books.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cWhen I spoke to Alex he was talking about how he really wanted to compete for the big trophies and that really excited me,&#8221; Tshiunza said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;He talked about the plans for the future of the club and it was something that I wanted to be a part of.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve played against Sale loads of times and as an opposition player you always know that it\u2019s going to be a really tough, physical game that\u2019ll be won by the pack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE <a aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Walesrugbynews\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;It\u2019s always the most physical game of the season and that always excited me because love that side of the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cOther teams have a real fear of playing Sale because of that physical challenge and I can\u2019t wait to be on the other side of that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m also really looking forward to playing with the other Welsh lads who are joining \u2013 Nicky Smith and Tomas Francis \u2013 and some of the guys I know from Exeter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been at Exeter for a long time and I think it\u2019ll be good for me to experience a new environment with new faces and new players to learn from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Tshiunza has not figured for Wales under Tandy and the last time he represented his country was against South Africa in November 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A series of injuries in recent times have held him back but he will be hoping to get his career back on track at Sale.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cChrist is really intelligent, powerful, supremely dynamic player, with a back story that tells you a lot about how much his career matters to him,&#8221; said Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cWhen you understand where he\u2019s come from to become and international rugby player, it strengthens the belief that his best days are ahead of him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s got so much ability and raw power and hopefully together we can put him back in a Wales shirt and help him fulfil his massive potential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our<a aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=e90f3817-255f-4349-881b-d9a4515d3f52&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\"> free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our <a aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/L8kRCygN2HM6E7iILK0spC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sale Sharks will have four Wales internationals next season, with three of them joining this summer Christ Tshiunza&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[79264,5903,101,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":["post-496446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-christ-tshiunza","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}