Christ Tshiunza (born 9 January 2002) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked 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 entertainme ...

or flanker for

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, 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 i ...

in the English Premiership. Tshiunza has represented

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and Wales U20.

Early life

Born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

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

Whitchurch High School Whitchurch High School () is a large, co-educational, comprehensive secondary school in the suburb of Whitchurch in Cardiff, Wales. Organisation and structure The school is currently the largest in Wales (according to the school's last Esty ...

in Cardiff. In an interview with

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, he said: “I can’t even paint the picture. There were six of us in a one-bedroom flat. We put a single bed on the floor that I would share, two or three on the bed... Fitting in at the start was strange because you can’t communicate. I played football and tried to make friends that way. It was tough to start off with. But everyone in my primary school made an effort. Imagine being friends with someone you couldn’t speak to. I found everyone was really nice and that is why Wales resonates with my heart.”

Club career

He was part of the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

academy, before going to study at

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, where he was signed by the Chiefs on a four-year contract. On 18 September 2021, Tshiunza made his debut for

, appearing off the bench against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

. 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, as well as his native

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. 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 The 2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 14th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all the matches were played at Cardiff Arms Park, Car ...

, 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. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He made his international debut against Fiji at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

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 national rugby union team, England, ...

. 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 men's 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 men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy ...

References

External links

*
Exeter Chiefs profileWRU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tshiunza, Christ 2002 births Living people 2023 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Alumni of the University of Exeter Black British sportsmen Cardiff Rugby players Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to the United Kingdom Democratic Republic of the Congo rugby union players Exeter Chiefs players Welsh rugby union players People educated at Whitchurch High School Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Cardiff Sportspeople from Kinshasa Wales international rugby union players