Will Curry boys have England seeing double for first time?
Jon Newcombe meets the twins making a rapid transition from schools rugby to elite level
In the long history of English rugby, there has never been a capped pair of twins. However, all that could change if Sale Sharks duo, Ben and Tom Curry, continue their fabulous rise through the ranks and reach the top.
The 18-year-old brothers, born an hour-and-a-half apart, played together in the Sale first team for the first time against Wasps last Friday night and shared the man-of-the-match award.
Both flankers, and identical in appearance, it would have been a brave call to have chosen one over the other after both put in a tireless shift in the rain-sodden conditions.
“My Dad just said enjoy it and go out and express yourself because if you’re good enough to be picked, you can be trusted,” said Ben.
“The support from our family and people from our old school (Bishop Heber) has been great – it’s an experience to cherish for a long time.
“I’ve been watching Sale for years and now I’m involved in the games, it’s hard to believe.”
Both twins have played for England at U18 level and their recent inclusion in the U20s squad is the next step up the ladder. Ben takes a levelheaded view on how his career is progressing. “It’s a step in my career that I’m very proud of, however, the work gets harder now to push for the starting spot.”
Mentored by former 2003 World Cup winner Richard Hill, there has been no shortage of hard work or help along the way.
Dad David, a promising young prop at Borough Road College, the alter mater of such rugby luminaries as Conor O’Shea and Richard Hill, and then Rosslyn Park and Wasps, is head teacher at their old school, Bishop Heber, and has been a constant source of support and advice throughout their ascent to the professional ranks.
With his sons in the team, David coached Bishop Heber, a state comprehensive in Cheshire, to the quarter-finals of the Daily Mail U15 Cup in 2013. “One of my proudest moments,” he admits. “We allowed the school out of lessons and it was a great occasion.”
From there the twins moved to Oundle School, where their uncle, former England and Harlequins hooker John Olver, doubled up as their rugby coach.
Having seen their older cousin, Northampton fly-half, Sam Olver experience top-level club rugby a few years earlier, Tom got his big chance against Scarlets and Toulon in the Champions Cup before marking his Premiership bow with a second-half try at Bristol.
A week after entering the record books as the third-youngest Premiership try-scorer on debut, Tom then found himself packing down in the Sale back row alongside his brother.
“That made my debut even more special,” said Ben, who was a little taken aback by the pace of the game. “It was one of the quickest games I’ve played in. I was very nervous in the first five to 10 minutes as I didn’t want to make a mistake but the guys around me helped a lot and eventually I settled in and the rest of the half flew by.”
Tom admits, too, that the transition from schoolboy to professional player has been a bit of a whirlwind. “When you’re on the pitch it is like any other game, it’s 15-a-side and two sets of posts. But, looking back, when you’ve got thousands of people watching and coaches coming down and giving you all this information while you’re on the bench, it is quite surreal.
“On the way back from Bristol someone asked me what I was doing a year ago. I told they I was probably warming up for a school (Oundle) game. Now I’ve played against Ma’a Nonu and Samu Manoa.”
The Curry twins first started playing rugby at four years of age, for Crewe and Nantwich U7s, and have been part of the Sale set-up for the past four years. Day-to-day advice comes from two of the club’s most popular former back-row forwards, coaches Dan Braid and Pete Anglesea.
“They’re both very easy to talk to which helps,” said Ben. “With Pete it’s mainly lineouts and general
structure while Dan is much more back-row focused which makes for a good balance. So, there is no shortage of advice”
While Tom beat Ben into the Sale first team by a matter of a few weeks, he has lost out in other areas. “Being the youngest, I’ve got the smaller bedroom at home, which is a bit annoying.”
As identical twins, the odd mix-up is inevitable but neither seemed fazed by the fuss.
“It’s interesting to see the looks on people’s faces when we walk down the tunnel together,” said Tom.
“Once I had to tell the ref during a school match that there was two of us on the pitch. I think he thought the same player was giving away penalties and was about to hand out a yellow card.
“Earlier this season we were loaned out to Sale FC and I was mis- takenly taken off instead of Ben who was carrying a niggle. That caused a bit of a panic and I was back on the pitch within a few minutes after I told them there was nothing wrong with me.”
Even their parents occasionally struggle to tell them apart. “They’ve got used to answering to both names,” Dad says. “We used to buy them different coloured boots but their agent supplies them with the same pair now.”
Another unwanted side-effect of rugby has added to the confusion. “I’ve gone and got myself a cauliflower ear and now we’re taped up the same,” explained Ben.
Like any brothers, they’re as competitive as they are supportive as one another, but both are keen to make their own way in the game. If it happens at the same time, all well and good.
“I was taken off instead of Ben, who was carrying a niggle, that caused a bit of a panic”