Sharks sensation Curry to turn up heat for England
WORLD CUP WINNER TIPS BACK-ROWER FOR BIG INTERNATIONAL CAREER
LEWIS Moody believes Tom Curry possesses all the qualities to become a permanent fixture in the England back row for years to come after his display against Ireland in the Six Nations.
The 20-year-old Sale Sharks sensation earned rave reviews for his performance on Saturday as England beat defending champions Ireland in Dublin for the first time since 2013.
It was Curry’s sixth appearance in a Red Rose jersey since winning his first cap on the tour of Argentina in the summer of 2017, when he became England’s youngest debutant since Jonny Wilkinson. And while former back-rower Moody thinks it’s too early to put Curry in the world-class bracket, he expects both Tom and his brother Ben to make a significant mark on the international stage.
“I don’t think he is quite worldclass level just yet, it’s too early in his career to start throwing those tags around, but I do believe Tom is a quality player,” Moody said, speaking on behalf of Land Rover.
“We’ve seen that from a young age. He was in the under-20s and as he’s come through his debut was against Argentina and I watched that game think, ‘That’s a really talented young man.’ “As he grows in his role, he will only get better and what I love is his enthusiasm, his work rate, it’s one of the things that I always look for in those back-row players.
“You want guys that are hungry and tenacious to go look for work. Maro Itoje is another one of those, Jack Nowell, it’s important in whatever position but especially in the back row.
“Then you couple that tenacity and that hunger with skillset and ability and Tom has all of that – whether it’s ball in hand or he’s over the ball trying to win it back, or it’s the tackles.
“We saw him put in a great hit on Tadhg Furlong which just stopped him in his tracks and he’s a big powerful unit. Tom’s only 21 still and he’s got a brother who is as good as him. You could argue why isn’t Ben in the side as well? I’m not entirely sure – is it a case of we don’t want to put too much pressure on the other guys in the squad by having two brothers?”
While Curry’s Six Nations debut ended in triumph at the Aviva Stadium, the No.7 did suffer a setback in the 11th minute when he was sin-binned for a tackle on Ireland’s Keith Earls.
But Moody defended Curry for the hit and said the composure he showed in the aftermath was further proof of his international credentials.
“I was impressed with his maturity in dealing with that yellow card against Ireland,” said Moody.
“He quite easily could have lost his head when he came back on the pitch, but he didn’t. If you look at that yellow card it was absolute rubbish. Yes, it was marginally late, but the tackle itself was bang on.”
Lewis Moody is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover shares and understands the values of rugby. @LandRoverRugby.