Cunningham-South has the mother of all motivations to silence the Shed

Frustrated England loose forward Chandler Cunningham-South already had good reason to take things out on Gloucester on Saturday, having only been used sparingly by Steve Borthwick this Autumn.

But another big motivator for the 23-year-old will be the presence of his Mum, Caroline, in the Kingsholm crowd. Cunningham-South’s number one fan is over from New Zealand and looking forward to seeing her first Quins game in person.

Cunningham-South, who was born in Sidcup but raised in Auckland, is hoping to put in a big performance for family reasons, whilst also reminding Borthwick what he is all about after playing just 55 minutes in the Quilter Nations Series. A start at No.8 against Fiji followed by two minutes against the All Blacks was all the versatile forward was given.

“Mum’s over at the moment, it’s great. I’m staying with my grandparents and she is staying there as well, so we get to spend lots of time together,” he told RugbyPass.

“She’s a good cook, and when I am leaving for training she makes sure I have got a little snack for the car ride and a coffee. It’s nice to be looked after for a bit, be a kid again, I guess. And she is going to come to the game at the weekend, which is cool.

“She hasn’t come to a Quins before so that is exciting; she normally wakes up in the night back in New Zealand to watch (on TV). And she’ll get to see one of the games at the Stoop and she’ll be at the Big Game as well before she goes back (on December 21st).”

Being in London, near his grandparents, was one of the drivers behind Cunningham-South’s decision to turn down Sale Sharks and sign a new long-term deal with Harlequins recently.

“It’s a good vibe at the moment, if you guys came in you’d get a sense that there’s sense of belief amongst the boys that we’re going in the right direction,” he said, explaining why he has committed to the quarters.

“Obviously the change up at the start of the year (Danny Wilson leaving for Wales) wasn’t the best timing but I feel like that is all done now and we can focus on where we want to be as a team. It’s exciting to see where we can go.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

3

Draws

0

Wins

2

Average Points scored

22

21

First try wins

80%

Home team wins

80%

At Kingsholm, Cunningham-South’s disarming demeanour off the pitch will be replaced with the bristling aggression for which he is known on it.

“I can’t wait,” the Bromley-based forward said.

“Obviously I wanted a bit more game time in the Autumn, but I can’t really be crying for too long; it almost leaves you with a bit of motivation to kick on with Quins. I just want to play as much as I can and as well as I can for the team and see where we’re at come the Six Nations.

“The Shed is an unreal place to go and play so, hopefully, we can go and upset that crowd. It would be amazing to get a win there.”

In Quins captain, Alex Dombrandt, Cuningham-South has a good sounding board when it comes to discussing the vagaries of England selection.

Dombrandt has won 23 caps to Cunningham-South 18, but over a much longer period. Since making his red rose debut in 2021, Dombrandt has never strung more than six Tests together.

“We all chat, and he’s probably seen that I have come back a bit disappointed. He has been through it before, so it is good to have people like that to help. It is not a good thing but it is almost a good incentive, a driver, it makes you hungrier, for sure. Tune in on Saturday!”