Date of birth | 18 March 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Sidcup, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 120 kg (265 lb; 18 st 13 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Hamilton Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Lincoln University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chandler Cunningham-South (born 18 March 2003) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team.[2]
Cunningham-South was born in Sidcup and at the age of four his family emigrated to New Zealand.[3] His family have a farm holding in Wellsford, north of Auckland. His father, Richard, once coached him for Silverdale RFC. He attended Hamilton Boys' High School and Westlake Boys High School.[3][4]
Cunningham-South played for the North Harbour under-18s, Canterbury under-19s and Lincoln University in Christchurch, and trained with NZ Warriors in Rugby League.[3][5]
In February 2022 Cunningham-South joined the London Irish academy.[6][7] He made his senior club debut in May 2022 and went on to make nineteen Premiership appearances during the 2022–2023 season, scoring three tries.[7][8]
In the summer of 2023 London Irish encountered financial issues and in June 2023 it was confirmed that Cunningham-South would leave for Harlequins.[7][9]
Cunningham-South represented England U20 during the 2022 Under-20 Six Nations.[10][11] The following year saw him score a try in the opening round of the 2023 tournament victory over Scotland.[12] He was a member of the squad that recorded a fourth place finish at the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship and scored a try in the semi-final defeat against France.[13]
Cunningham-South received his first call-up to the senior England squad for the 2024 Six Nations Championship.[14] On 3 February 2024 he made his Test debut coming off the bench as a second-half replacement for Sam Underhill in the opening round of the tournament against Italy at Stadio Olimpico.[15]