Christ Tshiunza: Exeter teenager on shock Wales call-up and interest from England

Christ Tshiunza is studying for a sport science degree while playing for Exeter

For the average university rugby player, pre-match preparations may not always be the most professional. Some may need to rush from campus, others might be nursing a foggy head from the previous evening's exertions.

When Christ Tshiunza was getting ready to play for Exeter University on Wednesday, he got an unexpected phone call from Wales head coach Wayne Pivac to tell him he had been named in Wales' squad for their autumn Tests.

"I was just getting my trainers on to get ready to leave and I got a call from Wayne," says Tshiunza, who went on to help his side beat Cardiff University that afternoon.

"When he told me I had to check. I thought someone was pranking me. He told me the news and I was very happy."

Tshiunza, it should be noted, does not only play for Exeter University. His call-up was not quite that surprising - but it was still a little earlier than most may have predicted.

The 19-year-old also plays for former English and European champions Exeter Chiefs, albeit with only four senior substitute appearances to his name.

Tshiunza is 6ft 6in and 17st 6lb, so it is clear to see why Exeter were keen to sign him from Cardiff in 2019. After Tshiunza's call-up on Wednesday, Pivac said: "He brings something nobody else in the country probably has in terms of height and athleticism."

Tshiunza, who can play in the second row or as a blindside flanker, only made his debut for Wales Under-20s earlier this year but could make his senior Test debut before 2021 is over.

Like the other English-based players in Wales' squad, Tshiunza cannot play against New Zealand on 30 October because the game falls outside World Rugby's official international window, but he could mark his remarkable rise with a first cap against South Africa, Fiji or Australia in November.

"I think this is going to be a big learning block for me," Tshiunza says.

"And really anything on top of that in terms of game-time or anything is a bonus for me, so I'm very grateful to be in a squad regardless of game-time or not.

"I'm just excited to learn. We have a few internationals here [at Exeter] and they've all said about how much more of a better player they feel when they come back into the club [after being with their national teams]."

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Exeter's squad is packed with international players and their English contingent have been trying to convince their young Welsh colleague to switch allegiances.

"I've been getting chat from the boys here about England but I think it's always been Wales for me," Tshiunza smiles.

"They've been poking me and pulling me around, saying 'come over to our side', but I've held my ground."

Tshiunza's team-mates may have been joking, but England were serious when they contacted Exeter to enquire about his eligibility.

"They showed interest," Tshiunza adds.

"It took me by surprise really. But all I have to do is train well and hopefully play well and I know my heart is set on Wales at the moment."

Tshiunza is from a French family and lived in DR Congo until he was six. His family initially settled in England before moving to Wales in 2010.

A promising high jumper, he did not play rugby union until he was 14 and a pupil at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, which counts Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton among its alumni.

Tshiunza credits his teacher Steve Williams as his biggest influence at Whitchurch, while Warburton himself has offered his advice.

"We're actually in quite close contact. We text each other quite frequently," Tshiunza says of the former Cardiff flanker.

"He's been in the background but he's been helping me out. Even when I played my first Premiership game we talked about, like, watch the nerves and [coming] off the bench and what to do and not to do.

"Even before I started playing here at Chiefs, at school he was giving me advice. Mr Williams pulled him in. They're quite close as well.

"So Mr Williams introduced me to him and we've been talking to each other for quite a while now."

Warburton set himself career goals throughout his childhood and while he was progressing through the Welsh rugby ranks, and Tshiunza has set himself the target of playing for Wales at the 2023 World Cup.

He first declared that intention when he was just 17 years old and his first Wales call-up would suggest he is ahead of schedule.

"Obviously every rugby player would love to play in any World Cup. I was kind of just speaking out," Tshiunza says.

"It wasn't a target but now I guess we can say there might be."