NOW I KNOW WHO TERRY BUTCHER IS!
Tom Curry on becoming England’s new bloody hero
TOM CURRY belatedly knows all about Terry Butcher and his bloody heroism in the national cause, now that he has joined him in that select sporting category.
The 20- year- old Sale flanker did a passable impersonation of the former England football captain during England’s 44-8 victory over France last Sunday at Twickenham.
A clash of heads with Damian Penaud left Curry’s white shirt stained with blood, which was pouring down his face. He was treated before the whole garment turned crimson, as was the case with Butcher in 1989 during a World Cup qualifier in Sweden.
That was nine years before Curry was born, so it was no surprise that he was not familiar with the incident or the man involved in it. It is fair to say that he is now.
‘I’ve heard about Terry Butcher now,’ he said. ‘We spoke about him. But before this if I’d been shown a picture I wouldn’t have known that was Terry Butcher. Now I’ve seen the photo, I know!’
He was matter-of-fact about the incident which led to him looking like an extra in a horror film, saying: ‘I think I just head-butted the full back.’
He added: ‘I didn’t realise what had happened. I thought I was just sweating, then it came up on the big screens and the whole crowd went “Oooh”. It wasn’t painful at all. Everyone said I had to go off for a head injury but it really didn’t hurt.’
Curry’s mother Susanne was sufficiently worried about him that she was still checking he was all right two days later, long after he had become accustomed to having half-a-dozen stitches in his forehead. She continues to urge him to wear a protective scrumcap but he continues to resist. Identical twin brother Ben, also a flanker at Sale, joked that Tom is ‘going soft’ and that the injury will help people tell them apart.
Yet Tom most certainly isn’t soft. He was England’s leading tackler in the victory over France, following a similarly monumental shift in the epic win against Ireland in Dublin the previous weekend.
He is the youngest forward in the Guinness Six Nations and he is demonstrating that he well and truly belongs at this exalted level — playing a key role in transforming England’s fortunes at the breakdown, which was previously a problem area.
Extending the horror- movie theme, Curry revealed his openside idols. ‘Hooper, Pocock and Francois Louw are obviously up there. George Smith’s been a big one. It’s about looking at everyone’s individual games, taking little bits and forming almost like Frankenstein.’
Curry claimed that as the junior member of the England squad, he is the butt of jokes within the camp, but no one is laughing at how he is playing, least of all forwards coach Steve Borthwick.
He said: ‘Tom is still 20, he is a young player who is on that progress path, he is hungry and always wants to do extras. That is his personality.
‘He loves competing. He loves rugby. If you throw down a challenge he will do anything he can to succeed.’