Quins boss reacts to Chandler Cunningham-South speculation

Harlequins’ new boss Jason Gilmore has revealed that tying down Chandler Cunningham-South is top of his to-do list, with Sale pursuing the explosive England back row.

The 22-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and, as one of Quins’ primary ball carriers, they are desperate to retain him.

But Gilmore, who was promoted to Senior Coach at The Stoop after the abrupt departure of Danny Wilson to the Wales set-up, acknowledges they have a fight on their hands.

“He’s obviously going to be a player that people want, isn’t he? When he’s off contract, he’s going to be in high demand. If I was at an outside club, I’d be looking at him as well. There aren’t too many boys built with his power,” said the Australian defence specialist.

“He’s raw, but he’s learning, and his ceiling is so high still. We definitely want to keep him; he’s a really big part of our team. Hopefully, he feels comfortable at the club, and he can see that we can develop him, but he’s definitely going to be in high demand.

“I’ve only just got my feet under the desk. I don’t know what’s going on in the background – I haven’t been privy to those conversations, but I’ll definitely be catching up with our recruitment department to see where that’s sitting because he’s going to be in high demand and we don’t want to lose him.

“It’s definitely a priority.”

Cunningham-South, who took his England cap tally to 17 on the summer tour to Argentina and the USA, joined Quins two years ago from London Irish.

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson, who prised promising hooker Nathan Jibulu away from Quins in the summer, denied having made an approach to Cunningham-South but confirmed he is on the club’s radar.

“There’s a few that we’re talking to next year. Any good back rower – and it all depends on our own retention – we’ll get in touch and have a chat with,” said Sanderson.

“How we play the game, how we want to play the game, we’re looking at carry dominance as being a major feature as part of their repertoire, shall we say. Chandler’s (numbers) are up there.

“I haven’t had a chat to him yet, personally. These rumours tend to spread through the changing room and out sometimes even before anything actually happens.”