Oundle was finishing school for Curry twins
Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools
OUNDLE have been blessed with a notable list of coaches over the years – former Wales skipper Terry Cobner, England hooker John Olver, England full-back Simon Hodgkinson and England and Lions lock Danny Grewcock – but none have left a more indelible imprint that Frank Spragg.
Spragg was the Oxford fullback in the 1926 Varsity match and joined Oundle the following year as a Latin teacher, but within a couple of years his true vocation revealed itself when he started a 33-year stint in charge of the First XV. A born coach.
Either side of the World War 2 Oundle were a powerhouse in the schools game with defeats being notable occasions. And although not particularly a Sevens side – prefering to indulge in other sporting events in the Lent term – they reached three Rosslyn Park Sevens Finals in quick succession in 1942, 1945 and 1946.
To Spragg’s slight irritation Oundle managed to lose all three – against Bedford, Rugby and Uppingham respectively – but the outstanding team of 1955, who had swept all aside on the fifteens circuit, managed to rectify the situation by finally completing the job with a 3-0 win over Taunton College.
Spragg’s reputation spread far and wide. In 1952 he played a large part in the production of the original RFU coaching manual while he became something of a radio celebrity as the guest coaching expert on the Tackling Rugby programme – hosted by Rex Alston – that appeared on the old BBC Home Service. When he stepped down he took to writing on the game for the Observer and then became both the schools rugby and cricket correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.
Three grandsons subsequently played for Oundle – Robert, Guy and James – the latter captaining the side while a Frank Spragg scholarship assists promising young sportsmen and women at the school.
Oundle continued to be ultra competitive in the Cobner years followed soon after by the Olver period. One of the star products around this time was fly-half Dave Walder who proved such an invaluable player at both Newcastle and Wasps while he also won four England caps.
Olver really came to the fore as a coach after he caused an early stir, in 2002, by banning half his side for a period of time after high jinks on tour went beyond the acceptable and having established that to represent the side was an honour and responsibility, as well as a joy, set about recreating a successful culture.
Not that rugby would seem to be the only attraction. Future Scotland lock Tim Swinson and his family were visiting a few schools with a view to which one he should attend when the young Swinson noticed a group of students constructing a car from scratch in an oily shed. This rather impressed him so Oundle was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The great modern day success story at Oundle meanwhile has, of course, been the Curry twins – Tom and Ben – who were both capped at England Schools level before going on to even greater glories with Sale. Tom made his
Test debut against Argentina in June 2017, still a few days short of his 19th birthday and has quickly become one of the best openside flankers in the world.
Ben was also on that tour in 2017 although he didn’t play and the following summer skippered England U20 to a runners-up place in the Junior World Cup against hosts France. Since then injuries have hindered his progress a little but he made his full debut off the bench against the USA this summer and has become an important cog in the wheel at Sale whom he often captains.
Mention should also be made of Bishop Hepher HS in Malpas which is where the twins originally learnt their rugby – and reached a Daily Mail U15 Cup semi-final – before they moved to Oundle and linked up with their Uncle John – Olver, the former Quins and Saints hooker who won three England caps. Mum Suzanne is John’s sister.
John had already had some
experience of coaching family members. His own son Sam was a very talented fly-half a few years before his cousins arrived and won England Schools and U20 honours and, after spells at Northampton and Worcester, is now playing for Doncaster.
“I played Tom and Ben at six and seven or left and right while Tom can also switch to No.8 which is where Eddie Jones has tried him out,” recalls Olver. “But in my mind they are both out and out sevens, certainly at senior level. I’ve always thought there will come a point in their senior career when they are competing for the same place.
“They were absolutely outstanding for us at Oundle. I was the rugby master in charge for 20 years and I could be there another 100 years and not have the pleasure of coaching two more influential players. They have made a stunning contribution to our rugby. As schoolboys they were absolutely identical but I
could usually tell the difference. Ben has a slightly different gait, he takes shorter strides when he walks. Tom was always the slightly more flamboyant player, Ben the unobtrusive worker.
“It was easier coaching my nephews than Sam because they took slightly more notice of me than Sam did. Luckily we had Simon Hodgkinson, the former England full-back, coaching with us at the time and if he told Sam how to do something he would listen intently, as opposed to me! As a fly-half he looked upon us forwards as necessary evils!”
Despite the presence of the Curry twins and indeed skipper Francis Cundell, a No.8 who was also rated as a top prospect, Oundle were not able to complete their long held ambition of winning the Natwest Cup or the Daily Mail as was. In the 2013-14 season as a very young team they got the taste by making it to round six before losing to a very powerful Warwick but the next season all set fair.
In quick succession they accounted for Hills Road College, The Perse, Trent College, Greshams and King’s Worcester before defeating Lymm HS in the quarter-finals which set up an clash with great rivals Bromsgrove, who they had lost to 26-20 earlier in the season.
The big Cup clash was a similarly thrilling affair with Oundle looking the more likely winners in the first half before Bromsgrove turned on the power and eventually won 27-18.