Chandler Cunningham-South interview: I’ve barely scratched surface of my potential

Chandler Cunningham-South has a set of goals that he shares only with his closest confidants. “I keep them in my head,” he says. “Some people would think they are crazy, but I think they are achievable.”

As Danny Care says of his team-mate, “the world is his oyster” after a stunning introduction to professional rugby, first at London Irish and then Harlequins. Everywhere he goes, Cunningham-South leaves a trail of destruction, particularly with a vicious fend on Semi Radradra and an equally brutal try against Saracens. A call-up to England’s Six Nations squad followed and four appearances off the bench confirmed that a star was born, particularly with his rampant carry against Ireland that set up Marcus Smith’s match-winning drop goal.

As he prepares to take on Toulouse in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final on Sunday, you might think that the 21-year-old would be broadly satisfied with life and at least crossed off a couple of those internal goals. Instead Cunningham-South tells Telegraph Sport that this is just the start.

“I have got a lot more to go, a lot more,” Cunningham-South says. “I have accomplished a couple of things, but nothing really. I haven’t won anything. I have only played four games for England. That’s nothing. There’s so much more to do. I don’t feel anywhere near the finished product. There’s a lot more to go and I’m very driven to get there. I am only scratching the surface.”

Two qualities Cunningham-South has in abundance are belief and power, albeit both are masked by a laid-back attitude. Born in Sidcup, south-east London, but raised in New Zealand, Cunningham-South quickly knew that he wanted to be a professional rugby player, raised on a diet of Jerome Kaino and Tuilagi brothers YouTube compilations.

“I loved Jerome Kaino,” Cunningham-South says. “He banged people, ran hard. The Tuilagis too. Alesana, he was a beast. Those YouTube compilations of them running over people are cool to watch. I would love to have my own video compilation like that but I have got some more games to play before I get there.”

It was a video compilation that actually got him signed by London Irish having been passed over by the Crusaders Super Rugby academy. Cunningham-South’s belief, though, never wavered. Asked what his plan B was if those video clips did not attract the attention of another club, Cunningham-South looks blank. “I knew in myself what I could do, I just needed an opportunity for someone to guide me and keep developing me,” he says. “I feel like Irish did that by taking me under their wings and helping me get to where I am now. In my head I was always going to be a professional rugby player, even when I wasn’t in the academy. It was just a matter of when.”

‘It has been a roller coaster’

A year ago, Cunningham-South was back in New Zealand visiting family when rumours first started circling of Irish’s financial problems. While Cunningham-South and flat-mate Will Joseph were quickly snapped up by Harlequins, many of his contemporaries were left without a club when the rumours became a reality. “It was a bit stressful,” Cunningham-South says. “You never think it is going to happen until it does. I am just thankful to have got a new club, but there was a lot of talent wasted there. A lot of the guys I knew are doing their own thing in university and not involved in rugby. It is sad for them not to have picked up a club. It has been a roller coaster, but you just need to ride the wave bro.”

Quins knew they were getting a physical specimen, but even so he quickly started turning heads in training with the ferocity of his contact work. “It is very rare you get a young guy who comes in and straight away looks ready, especially in the forward pack,” scrum-half Care says. “You see a lot of big lads, they do not always have the aggression to want to hit people really hard or run over people. Chandler wants to hurt people in the nicest possible way. He carries angry.”

There was no better demonstration of that “angry carrying” than in Harlequins’ 42-41 victory over Bordeaux in the Champions Cup final. Cunningham-South was coming into the game off the back of a calf injury he sustained shortly after his carry to Valhalla against Ireland. For 30 minutes, Cunningham-South pounded over the gain line through three or four more tacklers. Harlequins’ heroes emerged from many parts of the team, but that opening salvo laid the platform for all that was to come.

“I just try to take on those hard carries and get the team to go forward,” Cunningham-South says. “I knew I could only play 50 minutes so I emptied the tank and the boys finished the job.”

Danny Wilson, the Harlequins head coach, noticed Cunningham-South returned from the Six Nations more refined and polished under the tutelage of England head coach Steve Borthwick, but also even more desperate to improve. “Once you do it once, it makes you hungrier to do it again,” Cunningham-South says. “That’s all I want to do.” The carrot of playing against the All Blacks in New Zealand this summer is mighty appealing, but the more immediate priority is going back to France this weekend where Harlequins will once again be underdogs against Toulouse in their home city, much like they were in Bordeaux. This suits Cunningham-South perfectly.

“We had the belief that we could go and do it in Bordeaux,” Cunningham-South says. “No one outside shared that but that spurred us on. Toulouse are a very good outfit. We want to attack them. We want to surprise them. We want to shock them. No one is giving us a chance. That’s fine. We believe.”

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