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.

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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.

The RugbyPass quickfire with Chandler Cunningham-South… why he doesn’t wear a gumshield, sneaky pre-game McDonald’s as a teen, why he would love a veterinary degree, and much more – with Liam Heagney ??? #EnglandRugby #WorldRugbyU20s #ENGvIRE
https://t.co/iyAbRBpVjN

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 24, 2023

“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.”

"My agent was just looking for something for me in a professional environment… I didn’t really have the opportunity to do that in NZ" @heagneyl ??? talks to Chandler Cunningham-South about England, London Irish and finding a new club https://t.co/uoc521tdZS

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 25, 2023