The England age-grade verdict on Test rookie Chandler Cunningham-South
England age-grade coach Mark Mapletoft has hailed the accelerated progress of Chandler Cunningham-South, the 20-year-old who will make his Test debut this Saturday in Rome just seven months after starring at the Junior World Championship in Cape Town.
The back-rower was pivotal in helping Mapletoft’s U20s to reach the semi-finals in South Africa and having since joined Harlequins from the collapsed London Irish, he will now debut for Test boss Steve Borthwick off the senior international bench at Stadio Olimpico.
Cunningham-South was one of five uncapped players named by Borthwick on Thursday in his match day 23 for the round one fixture, joining the starting Fraser Dingwell and Ethan Roots along with fellow subs Fin Smith and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Checking in at 120kgs, Cunningham-South will look to wield his hefty presence if he gets a debut run as sub for one of the starting back-rowers Roots, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl.
Size and winning collisions were the exact things that U20s boss Mapletoft highlighted about the youngster when asked by RugbyPass about his rapid leap up the England pecking order.
“Without a doubt, his size and his ability to win collisions,” said Mapletoft when quizzed about the attributes of Cunningham-South that have caught the eye of senior boss Borthwick.
“Rugby has become a highly technical, tactical game but ultimately it is still a collision sport that demands the ability to go forward or stop people coming forward – and Chandler can do that both sides of the ball.
“Certainly, from his time with the 20s he was a pretty dominant ball carrier. He got picked up by Quins; I’d strong links to the club. It’s great to see him going there but what you need to be able to do at international level is defend as well and he has definitely picked up that aspect of his game.
“Steve and the coaches have clearly seen progress in that area and ultimately he is still a young man. He is still 20 years old. We forget that. Sometimes we want people to be ready-made at that age and the reality is that is not going to be the case.
“Some people take a little bit longer, some people are able to get the opportunity earlier than others, but always remember the context – these lads are young men still learning their way and I have no doubt Chandler will be a much better player in two, four, six years’ time than he is now.”
Latest Comments
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
Go to comments