Christ Tshiunza snubs Welsh URC return as PREM club win tug-of-war

Sale Sharks have won their tug-of-war with Cardiff to sign Exeter Chiefs’ Wales international openside Christ Tshiunza when his deal with the Devon club ends later this year.

Cardiff, who had Tshiunza, 24, in their academy before he moved to the University of Exeter, had been confident of taking him back to the Welsh capital until the Sharks hijacked their move.

Tshiunza, born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but educated at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, returned to the Chiefs side for Sunday’s humiliating 66-14 PREM Cup Final thrashing at the hands of Leicester Tigers.

The 23-minute cameo was just his fourth appearance in a season marred by a recurring foot problem and was his first since coming off at half-time in the draw at Northampton Saints in the opening game of the PREM season in September.

The Sharks have already confirmed seven new signings for next season, including Welsh international loosehead Nicky Smith, who is moving from Leicester Tigers, and England centre Joe Marchant.

Tshiunza, who last played for Wales in the defeat to South Africa in November 2024, had been earmarked by Cardiff to replace Ben Donnell, who is heading to United Rugby Championship rivals Ulster next season.

The Chiefs are prepared to let him leave without resistance as they try to meet EQP regulations next season, with director of rugby Rob Baxter needing to maintain an average of 15 EQP players.

“He is out of contract at the end of this season with us, and we haven’t re-signed him. The tough one with Christ, really, I don’t mind saying, our EQP numbers are quite tight.

“And making sure that we have that balance in the squad, because for us, it’s very, very important that we keep the funding for the EQP balance and we fill up our non-EQP quota pretty quickly,” Baxter recently told RugbyPass.