Imagine being 20 and 21 years old and representing your national team in the 2023 Six Nations, for many aspiring young rugby players this is a dream, but for Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins this is a reality.
The two young Welshman have been exceeding expectations at Exeter Chiefs this season and their efforts have paid off after a call-up to the Welsh squad, and this weekend both young talents started in the welsh line up against Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium.
Head Wales Coach Warren Gatland, when discussing the changes to his starting line up, stated that he was ‘looking ahead to the future’ when choosing Jenkins and Tshiunza in his starting XV.
With Dafyyd Jenkins replacing former captain and Lions player Alun Wyn Jones, and with two previous caps for Wales, all eyes were looking on him for this weekend. Christ Tshiunza came in at flanker, with three previous caps for Wales. These promising Exeter youngsters were given an opportunity to display some excellent rugby alongside some of the Welsh greats, and despite the result for Wales, both of the boys stepped up for the challenge.
Looking at the stats table, after the game, it is evident that both young talents, excelled in their defence, with Dafydd Jenkins having a tackle success rate of 100%, and with Christ’s Tshiunza being 78%. Both of the Exeter boys were successful at what they do best, with Jenkins winning 3 of the lineouts and Tshuinza winning 5, with a mentionable stolen lineout in addition.
Scotland were the stronger team at the weekend, and in the press conference, Gatland highlighted the talent of the uprising stars, ‘I thought Dafydd Jenkins was good, I thought Christ Tshiunza had some good carries’ Gatland also stated ‘For me, that was really positive from the input of those guys,’ ‘In terms of their performance I was really pleased with them’
Although Wales had a tough loss to Scotland on the weekend, it was clear that the Exeter boys stepped up and made the EURFC proud, and who knows what could be next for these two promising rugby players?