![\"Tahlor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_GettyImages-2263987215.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWales had been targeting Welsh-qualified Tahlor Cahill as a potential recruit ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup<\/p>\n
Tahlor Cahill of the Crusaders(Image: 2026 Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Wales appear likely to miss out on Welsh-qualified Canterbury Crusaders lock Tahlor Cahill in the short term, as the 22-year-old is poised to continue his career in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The Welsh Rugby Union was keen on Cahill as a potential Wales international, with the Scarlets<\/a> leading the chase for his signature. But Cahill is expected to stay in New Zealand to pursue his dream of becoming an All Black.<\/p>\n Wales head coach Steve Tandy is working hard to build strength in depth leading up to next year’s Rugby World Cup<\/a> in Australia and has previously spoken about looking at the Exiles system.<\/p>\n Cahill would have been perfect for Wales and would have added much-needed depth alongside players like Dafydd Jenkins, Ben Carter, Adam Beard, Teddy Williams, Rhys Davies and James Fender.<\/p>\n JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n The powerful second-row is an excellent lineout forward with a nice blend of explosive physicality and athleticism.<\/p>\n However, it appears Cahill is looking to impress new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie rather than Tandy. He also wants to wait to see the long-term structure in Wales before committing to a Welsh club.<\/p>\n However, things can change and Welsh rugby powerbrokers are expected to keep in contact with Cahill who will remain eligible to represent Wales until capped by New Zealand.<\/p>\n Wales has missed out on a host of Welsh-qualified players over the past few years, with England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso at the top of the list.<\/p>\n They have also lost out on Bath hooker Kepu Tuipulotu, Northampton Saints lock Tom Lockett, Leicester Tigers wing Ollie Hassell-Collins and Blue Bulls backrower Cameron Hanekom.<\/p>\n On the flip side Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas, wing Josh Hathway and backrower Taine Plumtree are all dual-qualified players who have opted to represent Wales in recent times.<\/p>\n They also succeeded in persuading giant Exeter Chiefs lock Luke Evans to rejoin the Wales U20s set-up after a campaign with England U20s.<\/p>\n Exeter Chiefs backrower Kane James, who represented England at age grade level, is a player the WRU should be targeting.<\/p>\n “We are looking,” Wales head coach Steve Tandy told the ScrumV podcast in September when asked about Welsh-qualified players.<\/p>\n “We have got to connect and we have got to keep asking those questions.<\/p>\n “We’ve got to be finding out about who is Welsh-qualified and more importantly – who wants to play for Wales.<\/p>\n “There are so many boys out there and probably boys that people wouldn’t even realise so that is definitely part of what I’ve been doing.<\/p>\n “I think that’s a really important piece because as a nation, we are small.<\/p>\n “There are lots of talented players, not only in Wales but outside of it. So that is a massive thing for us.”<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wales had been targeting Welsh-qualified Tahlor Cahill as a potential recruit ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":{"0":"post-517564","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom","13":"tag-wales-rugby-team"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517564","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=517564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}