'I'm under no illusions... the hard work has to come first and you have to stay in the moment'
What Tom Curry hopes will become the adventure of a lifetime begins this Sunday at Pennyhill Park. England’s World Cup opener against Tonga in Sapporo on September 22 is still 13 weeks away, but the jockeying for position is underway with no certainty about what might transpire.
Eddie Jones’ decision to keep players from the Gallagher Premiership’s four semi-final clubs on ice until a July 7 camp at the Lensbury means that those involved in the two rendezvous prior to that can’t be fully sure they will be involved for the long haul.
Just look at this particular week’s curveballs. Of the 15 forwards chosen in the 29-strong squad, two of the half-dozen back rows – Alex Dombrandt and Lewis Ludlam – are uncapped, their presence sure to guarantee that Curry, Sam Underhill, Mark Wilson and Brad Shields can’t take anything for granted about the way their national coach is thinking.
Curry walked away from Sale in May for his end-of-season break with no resounding words from Steve Diamond ringing in his ears. “He is a big believer in making sure you get your rest away from rugby. It was just that really,” said the 21-year-old to RugbyPass.
Truth be told, though, there was no complete getaway from rugby to be lapped up. Not with Japan on the horizon. Even when in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, Curry was seen out on his bike keeping the lungs ticking over for what lies ahead in these two foundation weeks with England before Jones more revealingly lays his RWC 2019 cards on the table with the squad for the July 7 camp.
“The conditioners basically let us do our own stuff but it was still about getting the body ready if we got a call into camp.”
Making the cut for the finals in Japan is a big deal for the Sale back row who was named the Land Rover Discovery of the Season at May’s Premiership awards night.
Defensive workrate and energetic breakdown earned him the plaudits and the trick now is to ensure the mightily impressive campaign – which included five consecutive England Six Nations starts – doesn’t go to waste as he hunts down passport validation for Japan.
“Any time you represent the country is hugely special and a massive honour, but I’m under no illusions. The hard work has to come first and you have got to stay in the moment.
“If you think about stuff that is going to happen in the future you will probably let it slip by, so it’s about making sure you are fully focused on the here and the now, how I can get better, keep working hard and whatever happens happens. It will be up to the coaches to make the decision.”
Curry was still at school at Oundle in Northamptonshire when the last World Cup was on, a 17-year-old looking on from afar as England crashed out at the pool stage in the tournament they were hosting.
29 players have been called up for next week's England training camp ?
See who's in ? https://t.co/S6BByCkCzW pic.twitter.com/oKDtATDKop
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 20, 2019
“I didn’t go to a game but I remember watching on TV in school and just thinking Twickenham is a special ground but when it was lit up for the World Cup, it just seemed like a different ground. I just remembered thinking how special the occasion actually was in a weird way, just how it looked so different. It was almost on another level.”
He was six days shy of his 19th birthday when Jones first took a shine, pitching him into June 2017 battle against Argentina in San Juan. It was a full year again before he got a second opportunity but he has since proven that his 6ft 1in, 106kg frame has the durability to thrive at the highest level.
He laughs that coaches and his twin brother Ben, whose back spasm injury in the lead-up to a Barbarians match gave Tom his initial in with England, keep his very grounded despite coming so far so fast.
“I’m very aware you can get too far ahead of yourself and as soon as you start thinking you are better than you are, you don’t improve. I just like the feeling that I’m improving. That is what motivates me, to just keep getting better.
“I have always been a big believer in that, just fully immersing yourself in whatever lies ahead. In terms of have I achieved as much as I want, there is no real measurement to that. I’m happy with what I have done and I feel like I have got a lot more to give. That is all that matters.
‘It [a full Six Nations] does fill you a lot of confidence that you can fully embrace it. It’s a lot of confidence gained from that. International rugby definitely does feel another level up from Premiership in terms of the speed, physicality. To be able to perform and play at that level and be there for the whole seven weeks filled me with a lot of confidence.”
Curry is a bit of a Frankenstein in the manner of how he has moulded himself into becoming an England No7. There was never any one particular role model, just a conscientious effort on his part to analyse a whole generation of opensides and cannibalise various skills for use in his own repertoire.
His approach worked brilliantly and given what he has so quickly achieved, he’d be stoked if there were youngsters now out there forensically looking at him in the same way he used to suss out the stars of the game.
“I hope so. That is a huge thing for any sportsman, for young people to look up. To be able to not only inspire but influence people, that is a massive honour for any sportsman.
“It depends on what they are thinking. It totally depends on them. I imagine a lot of people probably won’t know what I do but a few people might. It depends on what they see,” he said, nonchalantly adding that the rough and tumble of being a poacher liable for some rough breakdown treatment isn’t something that overly concerns him.
“Obviously, getting your head down in there is pretty interesting. There is an element of decision making. If you can see someone coming from a mile away and there is not much chance to get the ball, there is a decision to make about getting out of there. But as far as the level of protection I don’t really know. I just enjoy it.”
It’s fun that attracted its share of notoriety last February, his bloodied, photogenic head drawing comparisons with Terry Butcher, a long-ago England football captain who made headlines for spilling claret and then having a white headband turn red as his match went on.
I counted 15 uhms https://t.co/lkdhVRNDR7
— Thomas Curry (@TomCurry98) October 24, 2018
“Yeah, I did (know who Butcher was) after the first 10 people telling me,” quipped Curry with a smile ahead of a Pennyhill date that is another step along the way towards him becoming a stand-out player in his own right without being referred to as one of the Curry twins.
“I’m getting used to it,” he said, reflecting on how England duty is keeping him away from his once inseparable twin Ben, whom he lives with in Manchester and plays with out of the same Sale back row in the Premiership.
“It has been about being able to adapt and it has been fine. Everyone in the England camp gets on, so no worries about it. We were still able to text and FaceTime and speak, so it was absolutely fine.”
WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what fans can expect in Japan at this year’s World Cup
Comments on RugbyPass
Great story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to comments