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'Real deal' Chandler Cunningham-South compared to LeBron James
Newly capped England flanker Chandler Cunningham-South may have only enjoyed a 15-minute cameo from the bench against Italy in round one of the Guinness Six Nations, but it was enough to turn some heads, with two former Test captains speaking very highly of him.
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Former Wales, and British & Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton and former Scotland captain John Barclay were effusive in their praise of the 20-year-old on the BBC’s ‘Rugby Special’ after the weekend’s action, where the Welshman described him as the “real deal for England”.
The Harlequins back row made his mark in defence during his stint on the field at the Stadio Olimpico as England came away with a 27-24 win, and has been tipped by Warburton to be the successor to Courtney Lawes in the No6 jersey.
“I was watching Harlequins playing my club Cardiff, and I watched a few of their games and I thought ‘flipping heck, who’s this guy?'” Warburton said.
“He’s only 20 years old, he’s come from the under-20s system, came from London Irish who obviously disbanded. You’ve got a serious athlete here, great work-rate in defence, he works so hard off the ball. Not many players this big can move like this.
“This is a serious athlete that England have got on their hands. I hope he has more game time because I think he can be a massive name for England moving forward, particularly with Courtney Lawes leaving, leaving a massive hole in their back row. I think Cunningham-South could be the real deal for England moving forward.”
Barclay too was not shy to shower Cunningham-South in praise, saying he is built like LeBron James- one of the premier athletes in any sport.
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“Big name, great name, enormous human being, great hair,” the Scot said. “But he can actually play rugby as well. I was watching him at the weekend, and I’ve not seen a huge amount of him play, he’s the same sort of shape as LeBron James, but he can move and he’s physical and he looks angry and we’ve just seen the very, very start of him I think.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Tamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
1 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
33 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
33 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to comments