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Controversial Wales selection Plumtree a World Cup doubt

12 Aug 2023

Taine Plumtree contends for the aerial ball with Henry Arundell of England and Josh Adams of Wales during the Summer International match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium on August 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Controversial selection Taine Plumtree’s Rugby World Cup participation has been thrown into doubt after he left the field against England in their Summner Nations Series clash in Twickenham.

The twenty-three-year-old former New Zealand U20 loose forward featured off the bench against England last weekend, having just signed for Welsh URC side Scarlets this June. He started at No.8 today but his match came to an unplanned end after he appeared to suffer an arm injury.

Swansea-born Plumtree, whose rugby education came in the southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby competition, only linked up with Wales ahead of their mid-July training camp in Switzerland.

He had played just six Super Rugby games for the Blues, leading some to criticise his lighting-fast ascension into the Wales squad.

Before going off Wales No.8 Taine Plumtree did manage this delicious 50:22 #ENGvWAL pic.twitter.com/KeYdpKzcSg
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 12, 2023

One of the most vocal critics of his selection is Ross Moriarty, who walked away from Wales selection earlier the in year shortly after Warren Gatland took over the reins for a second stint as head coach.

“‘Must be a kick in the teeth to the back rowers who play in wales [sic] and moved back to wales [sic] to see lad who played 6 professional games get a cap for wales [sic] really takes the mick out of the passion for the badge” Moriarty posted in a reply to a picture of Wales’ new cap on Instagram, which he ultimately deleted.

A thoroughly awful match to watch, the game took a heavy toll on players for both sides. Leicester scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet was carried off in the first half, while Wales captain Dewi Lake also limped off.

additional reporting PA

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Comments

3 Comments

Warner 593 days ago

John you really have a thing about Islanders don't you. is this your excuse for the continued poor Northern Hemisphere WC campaigns , History and numbers don't lie.
NZ has the biggest population of Islanders who work here , go to school here , they give birth here and recieve the same benefits as NZders they also play school rugby here which is where if they choose , their careers begin.
Into Club rugby , then Grass Roots rugby , then into NPC rugby , then into super rugby , then if good enough All Black selection.
No matter how you see it you've got to agree that the Norths RWC history is bloody abysmal , you should be applying lip service to the real losers Northern Hemisphere teams who will once again be ripped apart by the SOUTH 2023.

Jmann 594 days ago

In NZ we've become very used to seeing our players, coaches, ideas strengthening other nations 'national teams'.

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YeowNotEven 50 minutes ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Would have been awesome to have a Bledisloe ANZAC game.

It would suck if they had it in Perth every year though. Gotta get it to Eden park.

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David Gomiez 51 minutes ago

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Spew_81 53 minutes ago

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Love should get some time at 10. He’s clearly got the ability to be a second playmaker, but primarily at 15. Some time at 10, even just standing at first receiver, will only help his playmaking skills. He set up two tries with good distribution.

He kicks goals well. He could be a second B Barrett. But keep his main position at 15.

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SG 1 hour ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

England have absolutely no need for him. Tom Willis and Ben Earl are better with a much higher work rate.

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JW 1 hour ago

'Ulster, though no one wants to admit it, isn't much more than a development province right now.'

No full games on the IRU YT channel unfortunately, all on subscription? Looks a fairly good level (1A).

Yes I mean I wouldn’t really know the local ratio of origin here, but certainly as a province with less resources mine has a ratio that veers heavily towards club rep. The club stories are often the best so get probably an imbalanced proportion of coverage to where most players actually come from though.

Those were a couple of Ulster (regional) clubs too, good good. Those clubs/size towns are very much where you find most talent coming from (compared to the big city), so your productivity depends very much on your systems in place for scouting talent. With the more wealthy and popular sport of NRL (hence more info out there) I’ve seen some interesting studies on player origins in this respect, which I think would be a very balanced base of data to draw conclusions from.

Yes I’m wondering how those names as examples compare to the likes of Bryne getting squeezed out for a lack of places. I’m only thinking of effects far down the line as a result of Irelands #1 ranking and increased publicity/interest and how Irelands system will take advantage of them.

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GP 1 hour ago

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Regarding the Crusaders side . Great to see promising young lock Jamie Hannah back in the starting team. He has certainly been through the mill since debuting for the Crusaders, even before playing for Canterbury. All his hard work has paid off. Antonio Shalfoon , who has been rested for this match has been amazing locking with AB captain Scott Barrett. I really rate Jamie Hannah as one of the best young locks of which there are a few coming through. Including his Canterbury and Crusaders team mate Liam Jack. Father is Graham Jack ,he played for Canterbury and the Crusaders in the 1990’s. Older brother of Chris, who of course was an All Black.

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Andrew Nichols 1 hour ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Gloucester are in the market for a top-class replacement ..Well why would they then be talking to HS?

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Utiku Old Boy 2 hours ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

I include Cunningham-South. He was born in England but moved to NZ at 4 yrs and learnt his rugby there. His dad was a schoolboy coach. In recent years, Teimana Harrison was - as was Brad Shields.

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GB 2 hours ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Cunningham-South was born in the UK but raised in NZ.

Makes a good point, wouldn't walk into the English set up.

Better to roll his sleeves up and play himself into the ABs

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Spew_81 2 hours ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Not sure what the ethical issue is. If it’s going for the money, it’s either do that or NZ rugby slowly dies as all the better players leave. So it’s the more lesser of two evils. Sell out a bit more as a Union, or the players sell out one by one.

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Spew_81 2 hours ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Yes, the team was similar. But the two locks made a huge difference. Kaino wasn’t a lock and Tuipolutu has only very recently started playing close to his potential (his work rate was terrible until recently).

The Irish lineout maul wouldn’t have been the weapon it was on that day if Hansen started Whitelock and Retallick (or even two proper locks). Though they wouldn’t have been guaranteed to win.

Doing the new haka when the Irish were mourning a great of theirs didn’t help. The action at the end of that haka has been interpreted negatively and some see it as a but disrespectful.

Still if the All Blacks did their normal haka they wouldn’t have been guaranteed to win.

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Koro Teeps 2 hours ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Absolutely no certainty he would make the current English squad. He’s not in the All Black conversation either. Physical, explosive player with ball in hand but sometimes struggles to impose himself fully on all aspects of the game.

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DC 2 hours ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Who are the Kiwis (plural)? The only one I can think of is Ethan Root.

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Gradier Walter 4 hours ago

Don't get out over your skis on the Highlanders