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Bidding heats up for lock-sized dual-qualified centre Zack Wimbush

By Ian Cameron
Exeter Chiefs' Zack Wimbush during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium on May 18, 2024 in Leicester, England.(Photo by Stephen White - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Exeter Chiefs are battling to keep hold of highly-rated centre Zack Wimbush, who is the subject of a tug-of-war between Wales boss Warren Gatland and his England counterpart Steve Borthwick.

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RugbyPass exclusively reported on Tuesday that battle lines on either side of the Severn Bridge and the race to lure Hong Kong-born Wimbush intensifies with Gatland keen to fast-track him into his set-up this autumn.

The outside centre – who stands 6’6 “and weighs 118kg – made 16 appearances in all competitions for the Chiefs last season and has also featured for the Chiefs in their pre-season campaign.

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He started the 14-10 defeat to the Ospreys last weekend but missed out as the Devon outfit rounded off their build-up to the new season with a 31-15 victory over Ulster at Sandy Park on Saturday afternoon.

Wimbush, whose parents are both PE teachers and who has a Welsh grandfather, is a target for the Dragons and Cardiff, both of whom are keen to meet with him to make their case for him to join them.

Fixture
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter Chiefs
10:05
21 Sep 24
Leicester
All Stats and Data

We understand that there is nothing in links to the Scarlets, but Exeter will be worried that they could be about to lose one of their young prized assets, and there is very little that they can do about it.

Wimbush, who made his Premiership Cup debut against Bath in November 2022, was educated at Mount Kelly School, Tavistock, before going to Exeter College and then Exeter University.

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Many observers in the game have tipped him as a future world star, and he is understood to be on an academy deal, which typically pays somewhere in the region of between £30,000 and £40,000.

The 20-year-old could be snapped by either of the Welsh regions that are keen for a meeting for a training compensation fee, which is calculated on a pro-rata basis.

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G
GS 1 hour ago
Bundee Aki sends new reminder to All Blacks he's the one that got away

Interestingly, your dishonesty in not being truthful reflects on you. As explained to you and probably by many other people in the past, NZ is a multi-cultural country with a large percentage of the population being of Polynesian heritage.


Let me share a personal story that illustrates this. My cousin, a good Kiwi girl, fell in love and married a Samoan over 40 years ago. They started a family, and now their daughter is about to start her own.


Now, when the child is older, he/she can choose to play for ABs or Samoa—ABs via birth and Samoa via Grandparents. It is probably very likely, as the husband is a former AB, so a professional rugby career is a distinct possibility.


If he plays for ABs - given your state of mind, NZ has stolen him from Samoa...


There is natural immigration between NZ and the Islands. They are part of our community, and kids do come down on rugby scholarships to learn rugby and get an education.


On the other hand, Ireland specifically targeted adult professional rugby players, who they termed "project players," to cap them for Ireland. Among those numbers are people like Jarrod Payne, Aki, Lowe, CJ Stander, etc.


This "project "was run and funded by the IRFU to directly assist the Irish rugby team in addressing depth issues.


20% of the Irish run on team vs NZ at the WC, were in effect "project players" - maybe Jamieson GP is little different as don't think he was deliberately targeted unlike Aki/Lowe.


That you can honestly compare natural immigration between Islands and the Pacific, where the cultural makeup is similar vs. a targeted project set up by the IRFU, shows just how inherently dishonest you are.


The foolish thing about it is it embarrasses the Irish team when it's not necessary. As shown by the last test against the Boks, Ireland didn't need these project players to win, as they are a quality side without those players.


Instead, all they have done is give people the ability to detract from any achievements by pointing out the Irish brought their way to success.

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