Sam Warburton has been singing praises for England’s rising star Chandler Cunningham-South, suggesting the youngster could be a contender for the blindside position on next year’s Lions tour to Australia.
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Cunningham-South’s journey is a tale of resilience. Just a short while ago, he found himself without a club after the financial collapse of London Irish. However, he’s made a remarkable comeback, impressing with both Harlequins and England.
“Warburton said: “I saw this kid play pre-Christmas because Harlequins were playing Cardiff. There was one kid who stood out and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, how is he not in the England set-up?’
“Fast forward to the Six Nations and he came off the bench the other day for England and had 15 minutes – Chandler Cunningham-South is a serious player. He’s 6ft 5ins, explosive, big, aggressive and technically very good as well. There are not many No6s around and there is always room for an enforcer in your pack.
“You need someone who can spearhead the effort. Joe McCarthy is doing that now for Ireland and Cunningham-South can be that player at six who is really disruptive. In 18 months, he is going to be red hot and in the conversation (for the Lions).
“I saw this kid play pre-Christmas because Harlequins were playing Cardiff. There was one kid who stood out and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, how is he not in the England set-up?’
“Fast forward to the Six Nations and he came off the bench the other day for England and had 15 minutes – Chandler Cunningham-South is a serious player. He’s 6ft 5ins, explosive, big, aggressive and technically very good as well. There are not many No6s around and there is always room for an enforcer in your pack.
“You need someone who can spearhead the effort. Joe McCarthy is doing that now for Ireland and Cunningham-South can be that player at six who is really disruptive. In 18 months, he is going to be red hot and in the conversation (for the Lions).
The current 36-man British & Irish Lions squad for 2025, according to the bookies
We found it intriguing to project a smaller squad based on the favored contenders according to bookmakers’ odds as of April19, 2024.
The Lions will play a New Zealand and Australia invitational XV as part of their nine-match tour down under in 2025.
The historic fixture in Adelaide will precede Test matches with the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
A sell-out at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would smash records for a Lions Test match.
The series finale will be played in front of more than 80,000 fans in Sydney’s Olympic Park.
The 2025 Lions tour fixtures in full
- Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
- Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
- Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
- Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
- Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
The bolded players in our proposed Lions squad represent the starting XV, according to current odds.
2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD (36)
BACK-THREE (6)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland) – 1/16
- James Lowe (Ireland) – 1/8
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland) – 1/5
- Tommy Freeman (England) – 4/9
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England) – 8/11
- Mack Hansen (Ireland) – 2/1
CENTRE (4)
- Bundee Aki (Ireland) – 1/5
- Ollie Lawrence (England) – 1/4
- Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) – 2/7
- Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) – 8/11
FLY-HALVES (3)
- George Ford (England) – 1/10
- Marcus Smith (England) – 8/15
- Finn Russell (Scotland) – 8/11