Christ Tshiunza (born 9 January 2002) is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

or flanker for

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Tshiunza has represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and Wales U20.

Club career

Born in Kinshasa,

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, to a French family, he moved to Wales in 2010. He attended

Whitchurch High School , established = , closed = , type = , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Head teacher , head = Mark Powell , ad ...

in Cardiff, where he was part of the Cardiff Blues academy, before going to study at

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

, where he was signed by the Chiefs on a four-year contract. On 18 September 2021, Tshiunza made his debut for the Chiefs, appearing off the bench against Leicester Tigers. Tshiunza was named man of the match on 25 September 2022, as the Chiefs beat Premiership champions Harlequins 43–42, as he scored the winning try after full time. He scored his first try in the Champions Cup on 21 January 2023, as the Chiefs beat Castres 40–3 to secure their place in the knockouts.

International career

At international level, before making his debut for

in 2021, he was qualified to play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, as well as his native DR Congo. He played in a friendly match for England Under-20s in March 2021. He was then called up by

for the 2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, playing in four of their five matches and scoring the opening try in the final match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. In October 2021, he was called up to the Wales senior team for their Autumn international series against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, Fiji and Australia. He made his international debut against Fiji at the Millennium Stadium on 14 November 2021. A hamstring injury ruled Tshiunza out of contention for the

2022 Six Nations Championship The 2022 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...

. Tshiunza returned to Wales U20 in July 2022, for the U20 Summer Series, scoring against Italy, and reaching the final to play South Africa. On 18 October 2022 Tshiunza was selected in the squad for the

2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2022 end of year rugby union tests, also known as the 2022 Autumn internationals, were a number of rugby union test matches played during the months of October and November. Some of the games were known as the Autumn Nations Series for marketin ...

, and came off the bench in the first test against New Zealand. Tshiunza missed the following match against Argentina due to injury, and was unavailable for the final match against Australia due to the match falling outside the designated test window. Tshiunza was named in the Wales squad for the

2023 Six Nations Championship The 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

References

External links

*
Exeter Chiefs profileWRU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tshiunza, Christ 2002 births Living people Welsh rugby union players Democratic Republic of the Congo rugby union players Sportspeople from Kinshasa Rugby union locks Cardiff Rugby players Exeter Chiefs players 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Wales international rugby union players