Against France, Chandler Cunningham South looked ready for Test Rugby given his size and strength. Credit: Getty Images/World Rugby
England's The Under-20 World Championship campaign ended after a 52-31 loss to France in the semi-finals on Sunday, but Steve Borthwick had enough promising performances to be in excited about future talent rolling off the production line.
This year's South Africa Championship is the first tournament since the pandemic, and looking back at the 2019 tournament is interesting to read when you consider which players have achieved higher awards.
The 2019 Championship featured Paolo Garbisi and Ange Capuozzo (Italy), Mateo Carreras (Argentina) who now plays for the Newcastle Falcons, Ewan Ashman (Scotland) who was the tournament's top scorer, and Devi Lake (Wales).
As for the English contingent, among the players, they switched to work in the England national team or, in the case of Kpoku and Redpath, either moved to France or decided to play for Scotland.
Who of the players of 2023 can follow these players and become an England international in the coming years?
Chandler Cunningham – South
Position: No. 8
< strong>Club:< /strong> Harlequins
Age: 20
Obvious place to start considering Cunningham South already looks ready for Test Rugby given his size and strength at the back of the scrimmage. Having made 22 appearances for the London Irish last season in the Gallagher Premier League and Champions Cup, Cunningham South got a lot of exposure to senior rugby and he impressed by scoring a notable try in a Christmas win over the Saracens.
Cunningham South came to the London Irishman from wealthy New Zealand-raised players, but he was called up directly to the England under-20s before even playing for the club.
Reported interest in his return to New Zealand after the death of the London Irishman is not surprising given his performances for the club and England last season, with his semi-final run against France breaking away from the lineout and passing two invaders. – complete mismatch of power.
When he joins the Harlequins, there are still flaws in his game that need to be ironed out. A yellow card for a dangerous tackle against Australia in the second half followed England squandering the lead to draw 22–22.
And how the Harlequins pair him with Alex Dombrandt, either by using him as a backup option or by trying to play the two of them with Cunningham South switched to a wide winger, will be a matter of observation. That said, the potential of Cunningham-South is huge.
Lewis Chessum
Position: Lock
Club: Leicester Tigers
Age: 20
Older brother Ollie will be a familiar name and there is every chance both brothers could be in the England squad in the future. , and Lewis trained with the senior team during the Six Nations.
Lewis, the taller brother by two inches at 6ft 9in, captained the England under-20s in both the Six Nations and the World Cup and showed impressive speed to set up the first semi-final try against France is for Sam Harris.
🏴————————————————————————————————————————- Sam Harris's trial time 🔥
He has a habit of scoring against the French 💙#FRAVENG # WorldRugbyU20s
🎥 @WorldRugby pic.twitter.com/kGxuh922ul
— Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) July 9, 2023
Chessum has yet to make his Premier League debut after several appearances over the last two seasons in the Rugby Premier League Cup and loan time with Nottingham's championship team, and with the arrival of Sam Carter Leicester still has many rivals. and Mike Williams to compete with Ollie Chessum, Cam Henderson, George Martin and Harry Wells.
But regular league play seems like a logical next step for the England under-20 captain who, if he can keep working on his skills to match his athleticism, could be a player of some sort.
Afolabi Fasogbon
Position: Tighthead prop
Club: Gloucester
Age: 18
The London Irish Club's academy has often produced high-quality defenders over the past decade (see Henry Arundell for the latest example), but Fasogbon's arrival seemed to thrill everyone at the club, and Gloucester's subsequent signing of him was smart business. /p>
Powerful and athletic Fasogbon has attracted attention for his performance against future U20 finalists Ireland and France in recent weeks. In the semi-final, Fasogbon often forced the French defender Louis Penvern to fall, as a result of which he won several penalties.Still only 18 years old, Fasogbon still has a couple more seasons to go with the U20s and will now be carefully managed by Gloucester's assistant and academic forward coach Trevor Woodman (there are worse mentors than former World Cup-winning props).
Cassius Cleaves
Position: Wing
Club: Harlequins
Age: 20
The Harlequins, as you know, are not entirely lacking in firepower, boasting the league's top scorer Kadan Merly, as well as Louis Lineach, Tyrone Green, Nick David and aspiring Oscar Bird. in their squad. Having all of these options means Cleaves is still waiting for his Premier League debut, but the glimmers we've seen in the Premier League Rugby Cup and the England under-20s have been enough to suggest he could inflict some damage at an adult level.
His attempt at the end of the semi-finals was a good example of what Cleaves is capable of, using the space left by Frenchman Paul Costes who ran out of the defensive line with a deep pass to Rekeiti Maasi-White before breaking out. /p>
Trying also against Fiji and Australia, with his score against the Junior Wallaby featuring a brilliant sidestep and tight footwork to finish in the corner, made him one of the top threats in U20 competition, backing up his excellent first try for the Harlequins in the Premier Cup. rugby league last season when he picked up a bounced ball and raced home from 60 meters. Now he just needs to get into the Harlequins playing team.
Louis Johnson
Position:Linebacker/Linebacker
Club: Newcastle Falcons< br />Age: 20
One of the most intriguing qualifiers leading up to the semi-finals, considering Johnson did not start in the semi-finals for England this season, having been used either from the bench or at full-back with Harlequins' Connor Slevin under 10- m number.
However.
it was Johnson who was chosen to start against France, he managed the game well and showed a sharp mind to lash out at the interception, leading to England's second attempt in the semi-final scored by Alex Wills.
Alex Wills corners him in England's second try💥#FRAvENG #WorldRugbyU20s
pic.twitter.com/dadnnXZyVs
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 9, 2023
So far, Johnson has only competed in the Rugby Premier League Cup for Newcastle, but that could change when Tian Shuman is released and Brett Connon, Josh Thomas and new subscriber Rory Jennings remaining options for the Falcons at halfway.
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