Tom Curry Back-garden battler who rose to beat world’s best
Uncle John Olver tells Daniel Schofield about Christmas clash which proved twins’ intensity
When Tom and Ben Curry were 12, they spent Christmas Day with their uncle John Olver, the former England hooker, and their cousin Sam, now a fly-half with Ealing Trailfinders.
After a day of festivities, the serious business got under way. Olver and David, the twins’ father, constructed a roaring fire in the garden, pulled up a pair of chairs with two glasses and three bottles of red wine. Then the games began: Sam, who was three years older, versus the Curry boys in a two-on-one match-up that was repeated over and again. “They beat the holy hell out of each other for about three hours in the mud,” Olver told The Daily Telegraph. “David and I just watched them drinking red wine by the fire, loving every minute of it. They were not fighting, but no one was giving in. You thought, ‘Christ, this was proper stuff ’. Everyone else was inside thinking, ‘What the hell are they doing?’ For us they are just very happy memories. The boys still talk about that Christmas.”
It was in this competitive furnace where Tom – who has become one of the breakout stars of the World Cup – and Ben were forged. Where some families play Monopoly at Christmas, Tom and Ben were only interested in rugby. It is true that they had a trial at Manchester City, which was scuppered by Tom scoring an own goal, but Olver says neither was ever destined to become the next David Silva.
“Trust me, they are cloggers,” Olver, who won three caps for England, said. “Another cousin [Patrick Jarrett] is on the books at
Stoke City, but they are not footballers. They were not bad cricketers, but it was always rugby really.”
It was Olver who arranged the twins’ scholarship at Oundle, where he is still a teacher. In England’s final warm-up match against Italy at St James’ Park, all the squad were asked to invite the person they felt had been the biggest influence on their career. Tom Curry invited Olver, even if he claims to have played only a small role in his ascension to a player who has outshone David Pocock, Michael Hooper and Ardie Savea at this World Cup.
“All I used to do was pick him and just tell him to go beat people up and get very physical,” Olver said. “They did not need much coaching. There is no way I can sit here and try to claim any sort of coaching credit that has turned them from what they were into what they are now. He has got to where he has all off his own back.”
Sale Sharks quickly moved to sign the pair. At first they were sent on loan, as 18-year-olds, to Sale, where director of rugby Jonathan Keep tried unsuccessfully to place a bet on one of them playing in the 2021 Lions series. Within a few months they were playing Premiership rugby for the Sharks and in that same season came on to the radar of Eddie Jones, who included them in a training squad for an uncapped match against the Barbarians.
Ben was originally picked ahead of Tom as a replacement, only to suffer a knock in training. Tom came on to the bench and then replaced Sam Underhill, who had suffered an injury early in the match.
Tom was subsequently named man of the match and went on to tour Argentina, becoming the youngest England forward to start a match in 105 years. Ben remains uncapped, which remains a mystery to Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond. “Tom has a bit more of a physical edge, but not much more,” Diamond said. “I can only speak from my experience, but Ben gives us not far behind what Tom gives us. I don’t know what Eddie’s decision-making policy was on that, but maybe he just does not want two of them in the same changing room.”
Tom Curry does have a reputation for being the worst room-mate in the England camp for his bizarre conversational skills and his propensity to sleepwalk. Whatever his chat is like, his professionalism is not in question. “We never have to worry about the Currys,” Diamond said. “Even if s--- hits the fan on a night out, they will be the ones calming stuff down.” After Jones told him to model his game on George Smith, Tom sought out the former Australia flanker the next time Sale played Wasps. He also counts Richard Hill, the 2003 World Cup winner, among his mentors. “Relentless” is the word most commonly used to describe Curry. So far at this World Cup, he is the only player to have played every minute of every game, a staggering testament to the 21-year-old’s fitness and maturity levels.
“He’s a freak of nature,” Diamond said. “But a very good one.”