Warren Gatland picks up Kiwi and Blues loose forward Taine Plumtree for Wales squad

Taine Plumtree got limited opportunities for the Blues. Photo / Photosport

Kiwi loose forward Taine Plumtree has a chance of making the Wales Rugby World Cup squad.

Plumtree, 23, has been called in to the Welsh training camp after last week signing with Scarlets following three seasons with the Blues, where he only played six times, including two appearances off the bench this season.

Plumtree, who played age group rugby for New Zealand, was born in Wales during his father John’s four-year stint coaching Swansea, and is eligible for the All Blacks, Wales, and the Springboks, as his mother was born in South Africa.

But Wales seem the likely destination for his international rugby future, with head coach Warren Gatland saying Plumtree would most likely be an option for the 2024 Six Nations, but could come into consideration for the World Cup.

“He’s a six foot five back-row forward, we don’t have a lot of those here in Wales. He’s 23, whether he makes the World Cup squad or not he’s definitely a player we want to keep in mind for the future. Potentially that’s later down the track with the Six Nations.

“I spoke to Taine about three weeks ago about the possibility; he was in discussions with the Scarlets about signing for them. He seemed pretty excited.

“For us, given that we’ve 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.”

Wales are in Switzerland for a two-week training camp before moving to another training block in Turkey ahead of two test matches against England and one against South Africa as they build up their World Cup preparation.