England rookie Chandler Cunningham-South was being mentored for weeks by Richard Hill without knowing he was talking to a World Cup winner.
Cunningham-South made a strong debut off the bench in Saturday’s 27-24 victory over Italy, becoming one of two flankers to win their first cap in the Guinness Six Nations opener alongside Ethan Roots.
As England team manger with the additional role of talent identification for the pathway, Hill has influenced the rise of both players as well as the likes of Sam Underhill and Tom Curry.
Hill’s keen eye for future Test stars is valued highly by head coach Steve Borthwick, who revealed when naming his Six Nations squad last month that “if Richard tells me to track a back-row forward, I’m listening”.
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Cunningham-South had Hill’s approval when on England Under-20 duty but presumed he was speaking to a random enthusiast rather than one of the country’s greatest flankers and a veteran of 71 Tests, including the triumphant 2003 World Cup final.
“There was no doubt that, as an 18-year-old, Chandler’s physicality of carry was not quite the norm for his age compared to others that I was watching,” said Hill, who was initially alerted to him by his first club London Irish.
“He was doing fantastically well so I made sure that I connected with him at the Under-20s training sessions.
“I carried on chatting to him and then after a number of meetings that I’d had with him, Jonathan Fisher, Irish’s academy coach, decided to ring me after a chance meeting.
“John said that Chandler has just told him how he turns out to Under-20s training and ‘a couple of times this guy’s come up to me and you know, he’s had a chat about my game’.
“’He seems to understand how to play and he’s got some reasonable ideas. You know, he sounds like he knows what he’s talking about’. So yeah, that was me!
“He found out probably three months ago that I played in the World Cup. Chandler’s not that fussed about what’s gone on in the past.
“He wanted to know why I didn’t tell him. I said it had no bearing on what we’re trying to achieve, which was him, not me.”
While Cunningham-South’s 14-minute cameo against Italy was rich with promise, Roots was close to the finished article in being named man of the match following a superb display at blindside flanker.
Borthwick first became aware of Roots when he was coaching Leicester against the Ospreys but it was when Hill showed him footage of the 26-year-old cage fighter playing for Exeter during last autumn’s World Cup that he really took notice.
Fast forward five months and the Chiefs forward is part of Borthwick’s England rebuild, providing vital carrying muscle to a side that is short on defence-busting power.
“If there is someone of interest for the future then I’d make Steve aware – and Ethan was one of those players,” Hill said.
“I knew he had a skill set that would interest us – he can carry the ball, carrying into contact, heavy contact, and defensively physical at the breakdown.
“He has been physical and consistent in terms of the performances he put in since joining Exeter this season.”
Roots is expected to continue in the number six jersey for Saturday’s visit of Wales to Twickenham, with Borthwick naming his team on Thursday afternoon.
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
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