Beware of the beast! England's back-row colossus Chandler Cunningham-South who grew up in New Zealand is ready to rumble against the All Blacks The Harlequins flanker has hit the ground running as an England player Cunningham-South was born in Kent but moved to New Zealand aged four He made his first Test start in England's 52-17 victory against Japan this month By Chris Foy and Alex Bywater Published: 13:13 EDT, 29 June 2024 | Updated: 13:13 EDT, 29 June 2024 e-mail View comments Chandler Cunningham-South has hit the ground running as an England player and it turns out that such an instant impact is nothing new for the giant Harlequins flanker. The 21-year-old was born in Kent, but his family moved to New Zealand when he was just four. There, he was soon introduced to rugby – and immediately showed an aptitude for the Kiwis’ national sport.
‘In his first game as a four-year-old, we just plonked him on the field and he instinctively seemed to know what to do,’ said Chandler’s mother, Caroline. ‘It was tag rugby – they call it Rippa. He ran with whoever had the ball, so when they were tagged, he would take the ball and score.
He worked that out very quickly. He has always read the game well.’ Caroline, husband Richard and their two children – Chandler and sister Mia – lived in a coastal area north of Auckland and Chandler played for the local Silverdale Rugby Club.
But oval-ball activities were just one part of his sporting repertoire. ‘Rugby wasn’t the.
