Curry selection at No8 proof of over-reliance on favourite Vunipola
Anchoring the scrum really is a very different job and it takes a lot of getting used to. As a flanker you do not think, you just do. You attack a breakdown, you make a tackle, you hunt the ball. As a No8 you need to be more selective, choosing your moment and making the right decisions.
In some ways you are the fly-half in the pack and you need two skills rarely used as a flanker: the ability to pick up the ball from the base, as well as being able to communicate accurately. Communication may sound obvious, but as a flanker you primarily listen to your No8 and they tell you where to go and what to do. As a No8, you lead conversations while also being in constant dialogue with your scrumhalf. Brevity and clarity are crucial. But it is that ability to pick up cleanly from the base of a scrum that used to give me nightmares. At some point today England will have a scrum on their own five-metre line and if they start going backwards we will see whether Curry – nearly four stones lighter than Vunipola – can execute a vital skill under pressure. It is tough for an established No8 to do, let alone someone starting in the position for the first time in international rugby. That said, no challenge has proven too big for Curry in his career to date.
He may lack Vunipola’s heft, but his pace and dynamism give him a real point of difference, and he will relish the challenge. His battle with opposite number Gregory Alldritt will be fascinating and I would give Curry a decent chance of coming out on top – which is remarkable considering his lack of experience at No8.
But I would rather have Curry and Underhill on the flanks, with Dombrandt there showing us what he is made of.