Chunya Munga
| Date of birth | 2 September 2000[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Reading, Berkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 120 kg (265 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Leighton Park School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chunya Munga (born 2 September 2000) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Premiership Rugby club Northampton Saints.
Early life
[edit]Born in Reading, Berkshire, Munga started playing rugby union at ten years-old at his local club Reading Abbey.[3] He attended Leighton Park School where he served as Head Boy.[4]
Club career
[edit]Munga joined the London Irish Academy at the age of 14 years-old, having been a supporter of the club growing up.[5]
Hartpury (loan)
[edit]In 2019, Munga played on loan at RFU Championship side Hartpury, scoring a try on debut against Doncaster Knights in October 2019.[6]
London Irish
[edit]Munga made his London Irish debut during the 2019-20 season against Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby Cup. He made his league debut in the Premiership later that season against Saracens.[7]
Munga had made 18 senior club appearances for London Irish prior to signing a new contract with the club in 2021.[8] In May 2022 he started for the side that lost to Worcester Warriors in the final of the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby Cup.[9] He was up to 45 appearances by the time of another new contract in January 2023.[10]
In March 2023 Munga made his fiftieth appearance for the club and that same month started in the 2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup final which saw them lose to Exeter Chiefs after extra time.[11][12] In June 2023, London Irish went into administration, he had made 53 league appearances for London Irish before they liquidated.[13]
Northampton Saints
[edit]Munga became the first former London Irish player to find a new club when he signed for Northampton Saints in June 2023.[13][14]
International career
[edit]Munga represented England under-18 and made a solitary appearance for the England under-20 side in a defeat against Ireland during the 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.[3][15]
In June 2021 Munga was called up by head coach Eddie Jones to train with the senior England squad.[16][17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Chunya Munga". itsrugby. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "Chunya Munga". All.Rugby. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ a b Mockford, Sarah (8 September 2021). "Hotshot: London Irish lock Chunya Munga". Rugby World. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "Head boy to Hero: Chunya joins the England Rugby squad". Leighton Park. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Yamani, Louis (5 October 2021). "Chunya Munga Raring To Bounce Back From Injury". Chiswick Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Lyles, Robert (14 October 2019). "London Irish forward scores on Hartpury debut, two tries for England wing and RFU cup draws – the big Gloucestershire rugby stories". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Vickers, Tom (29 November 2023). "The big interview: Tom Vickers talks to Saints lock Chunya Munga". Northampton Chronicle. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Wood, Matthew (30 June 2021). "Chunya Munga pens new deal with London Irish". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Peddy, Chris (17 May 2022). "London Irish 25-25 Worcester Warriors: Worcester win Premiership Rugby Cup with most tries after extra time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Chunya Munga: London Irish forward agrees new contract". BBC Sport. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "Chunya Munga of The London Irish joins Alex Corbisiero on The Scrum Down Show". Yardbarker.com. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Pilnick, Brent (19 May 2023). "Premiership Rugby Cup: London Irish 20-24 Exeter Chiefs (AET)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Chunya Munga & Tarek Haffar: Northampton Saints sign London Irish forwards". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Heagney, Liam (14 June 2023). "Chunya Munga becomes first London Irish player to find a new club". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "U20 Six Nations: England 21-39 Ireland recap". RTÉ. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Heagney, Liam (10 June 2021). "'He's got something about him': The unknown 20-year-old lock called up by England". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Kitson, Robert (10 June 2021). "Eddie Jones names 21 uncapped players for 34-man England training camp". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2023.