WRU statement: Rugby World Cup training call-up for Taine Plumtree
Warren Gatland has called up uncapped back row forward Taine Plumtree to Wales’ World Cup training squad for a two-week camp in Switzerland. Plumtree is part of a group that has travelled to Fiesch in the Swiss Alps, the Welsh Rugby Union said.
The 23-year-old was born in Swansea and is the son of former Ireland, Japan and New Zealand assistant coach John Plumtree. A New Zealand U20s international, he has played Super Rugby for the Auckland-based Blues and will link up with the Scarlets next season.
Wales head coach Gatland has seen his back-row options hit by Justin Tipuric retiring from Test rugby and Josh Macleod suffering a shoulder injury.
Plumtree now has a golden opportunity to showcase World Cup credentials ahead of Gatland announcing his final 33-strong squad next month.
Gatland said: “We have called up Taine Plumtree to the squad to give him an opportunity. I spoke to Taine about three weeks ago about the possibility. He seemed pretty excited.
“He was born in Swansea, has come through the New Zealand system and is also eligible for South Africa as well with a South African mum. For us, given that we have had Josh Macleod pull out of the squad due to injury, some players unavailable and Taulupe Faletau has picked up a bit of an injury, we thought it was a great opportunity for Taine to come in.
“He is a six-foot five-inch back-row forward – we don’t have a lot of those in Wales. Whether he makes the World Cup squad or not, he is definitely a player we want to keep in mind for the future.
“Potentially, that is later down the track with the Six Nations, but he gets a chance to come in and we just know how excited he is to get the opportunity to come in and take that chance with us out in Switzerland.”
Wing Alex Cuthbert and fly-half Owen Williams, meanwhile, have not made the trip due to personal reasons. Number eight Faletau is expected to join the group next week as he continues his recovery from a calf muscle injury.
Wales will head to Turkey later this month for a second overseas camp before two World Cup warm-up games in August against England and a Principality Stadium appointment with South Africa. Wales’ opening World Cup fixture sees them face Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10.
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Excellent game management in the last 15 or so minutes to close it out. Aussie got a bit panicky.
Go to commentsWhile all this is going on… I’ve been thinking more about the NFL draft system and how to make the commercial elements of the game more sustainable for SA teams who precariously live on the fringe of these developments. SA teams play in Europe now, and are welcome, because there’s a novelty to it. SA certainly doesn’t bring the bucks (like a Japan would to SR) but they bring eyes to it. But if they don’t perform (because they don’t have the money like the big clubs) - it’s easy come easy go… I think there is an element of strategic drafting going on in SA. Where the best players (assets) are sort of distributed amongst the major teams. It’s why we’re seeing Moodie at the Bulls for example and not at his homegrown Western Province. 20-30 years ago, it was all about playing for your province of birth. That has clearly changed in the modern era. Maybe Moodie couldn’t stay in the cape because at the time the Stormers were broke? Or had too many good players to fit him in? Kistchoff’s sabbatical to Ireland and back had financial benefits. Now they can afford him again (I would guess). What I am getting at is - I think SA Rugby needs to have a very strong strategy around how teams equitably share good youth players out of the youth structures. That is SA’s strong point - a good supply of good players out of our schools and varsities. It doesn’t need to be the spectacle we see out of the states, but a system where SA teams and SA rugby decide on where to draft youth, how to fund this and how to make it that it were possible for a team like the Cheetahs (for example) to end up with a team of young stars and win! This is the investment and thinking that needs to be happening at grassroots to sustain the monster meanwhile being created at the top.
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