England vs Australia: Fan favourite Chandler Cunningham-South ready to bring more destruction

It was a tackle that got everyone at Twickenham off their seats and, when the replay was shown on the big screens, a collective gasp reverberated around the stadium.

New Zealand lock Tupou Vaa’i will have only seen Chandler Cunningham-South out of the corner of his eye, before the England flanker hit him with a ferocious tackle.

Vaa’i hit the deck, the ball fell forward and Cunningham-South threw his hands in the air in an effort to whip up the crowd.

The Twickenham faithful duly responded and, while it is still early days in Cunningham-South’s England career, the 21-year-old is quickly becoming a fan favourite.

England will be hoping for plenty more of those big hits as they host Australia on Saturday. Defeat to New Zealand last time out at Twickenham stung given the manner of the defeat, but Cunningham-South was one of those who came out of the narrow loss with his reputation enhanced.

“Seeing him really step up was impressive,” said England No8 Tom Curry. “The stuff you saw, the physicality and the big hits, they are kind of the end process.

“But the whole week, Steve Borthwick was brilliant with him in terms of his lineout role, technique-wise and getting him up to speed knowledge-wise.

“He has made so many steps with that, which people probably don’t see. He has really got his head down, but also he has stayed true to himself. He brought the best out of himself and, hopefully, gets better and better.”

Cunningham-South’s rise is remarkable and rare in the modern game. Born in England, he left when he was just four as his family moved to New Zealand. Once there, he instantly took up rugby and the talent was clear from an early age.

Aged 18, Cunningham-South returned to England and in February 2022 he joined the London Irish academy. Coaches there were blown away by his physical prowess and Jonathan Fisher, who worked with the academy’s forwards, swiftly notified England.

Fisher sent England team manager Richard Hill video clips of Cunningham-South while he was on loan at Esher. Fast forward to 2024 - and Cunningham-South was making his debut for England in the Six Nations.

“I was watching the clips at the weekend and I’ve not seen a huge amount of him play, it’s like he’s the same sort of shape as LeBron James,” former Scotland captain John Barclay said after Cunningham-South’s England debut against Italy.

“He can move, and physically he looks angry. We’ve just seen the very, very start of him I think.”

Cunningham-South has continued to shine since then, unfazed by leaving London Irish for Harlequins last year after the club folded. His motto for how he plays is simple: “Carry the ball and hit things”.

Long term, Cunningham-South would ideally like to play as a No8 and New Zealand great Ardie Savea is among those he idolises.

Ben Earl is another player who Cunningham-South learns from and, with Earl currently England’s No8, the 21-year-old is packing down at blindside flanker.

He enjoys that role, albeit he doesn’t carry the ball as much as he would at No8, and has worked on his lineout game. Maro Itoje has been a big help in that regard, while Cunningham-South also regularly spends evenings going through calls with England’s training coordinator, Joe Lewis.

The hard work is paying off and Cunningham-South is developing into one of England’s most exciting prospects.

He jokes when he arrived back in the country as an 18-year-old he was a “chubby” 125kg forward. Cunningham-South has shed 5kg since then, adding more muscle to his body, and it is what makes him such a destructive player.

If Australia weren’t aware of that before this weekend, then chances are they will be after the final whistle.