'Real deal' Chandler Cunningham-South compared to LeBron James

Newly capped England flanker Chandler Cunningham-South may have only enjoyed a 15-minute cameo from the bench against Italy in round one of the Guinness Six Nations, but it was enough to turn some heads, with two former Test captains speaking very highly of him.

Former Wales, and British & Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton and former Scotland captain John Barclay were effusive in their praise of the 20-year-old on the BBC’s ‘Rugby Special’ after the weekend’s action, where the Welshman described him as the “real deal for England”.

The Harlequins back row made his mark in defence during his stint on the field at the Stadio Olimpico as England came away with a 27-24 win, and has been tipped by Warburton to be the successor to Courtney Lawes in the No6 jersey.

Can anyone beat Ireland? The Boks Office discuss | RPTV

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Can anyone beat Ireland? The Boks Office discuss | RPTV

The Boks Office discuss Ireland and France’s performances in the opening round of the Six Nations. Watch the full show exclusively on RugbyPass TV

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“I was watching Harlequins playing my club Cardiff, and I watched a few of their games and I thought ‘flipping heck, who’s this guy?'” Warburton said.

“He’s only 20 years old, he’s come from the under-20s system, came from London Irish who obviously disbanded. You’ve got a serious athlete here, great work-rate in defence, he works so hard off the ball. Not many players this big can move like this.

Fixture

Six Nations

England

16 - 14

Full-time

Wales

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“This is a serious athlete that England have got on their hands. I hope he has more game time because I think he can be a massive name for England moving forward, particularly with Courtney Lawes leaving, leaving a massive hole in their back row. I think Cunningham-South could be the real deal for England moving forward.”

Barclay too was not shy to shower Cunningham-South in praise, saying he is built like LeBron James- one of the premier athletes in any sport.

“Big name, great name, enormous human being, great hair,” the Scot said. “But he can actually play rugby as well. I was watching him at the weekend, and I’ve not seen a huge amount of him play, he’s the same sort of shape as LeBron James, but he can move and he’s physical and he looks angry and we’ve just seen the very, very start of him I think.”