Cardiff Rugby, Dragons and Scarlets interested in signing Exeter Chiefs rising star
Exeter Chiefs and England are set to be raided for up-and-coming centre Zack Wimbush according to the latest reports, with Wales head coach Warren Gatland keen to fast-track the imposing back into his backline potentially as soon as this Autumn.
The 20-year-old, who was born in Hong Kong, qualifies for both England and Wales, but our sister publication WalesOnline are reporting Gatland is very keen to bring Wimbush into the Wales fold, perhaps as early as this autumn, having missed out on landing Exeter clubmate Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
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The publication also reports that a trio of Welsh United Championship sides are targeting signing Wimbush ahead of the 2025/26 season, with Cardiff Rugby, Dragons and the Scarlets all interested in the 6ft 6in and 118kg centre.
Wimbush has only made 17 senior appearances for Chiefs since making debut against Bath in a Premiership Rugby Cup back in 2022, but he made a real impact in the first team in the second half of last season, remarkably making the second-highest post-contact metres in all four major domestic competitions in world rugby - United Rugby Championship, Gallagher Premiership, Top 14 and Super Rugby Pacific - with a strong passing game and significant pace as well, making him a triple threat.
Wimbush is understood to be Welsh-qualified through his mother's side of the family, which means Gatland could select him in his autumn squad should he opt to represent Wales, but that would leave Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter scrambling to tie him down to a long-term contract to keep him at Chiefs long-term so as not to lose the talented youngster to a Welsh region because of the lure of playing international rugby.
The Welsh Rugby Union currently have a selection policy that states only players who have amassed 25 caps or more can sign a contract to play their club rugby outside of Wales and remain eligible for international selection. That rule is currently keeping Chiefs centre Joe Hawkins out of the mix for Wales.