Tom Curry England teammates as Rugby World Cup countdown begins in time

Tom Curry insists England have no time to waste as they enter the Autumn Nations Series knowing the countdown to the World Cup has already begun. England vs Wallabies live Rugby

Five campaigns separate Eddie Jones’ team and France 2023, and after starring in Japan two years ago Curry is determined to make every moment count in the build-up.

“It is exciting – that’s the feeling. With the experience I had in 2019 you understand how quickly it comes around,” the Sale and Lions flanker said.

“So it’s about making sure you properly embrace what is happening in every single thing you do day-in, day-out.

“It makes a massive difference and whatever happens in two years happens on a personal and team level.

“Yes it is exciting but you have got to pull it back a bit to what really matters and that is how you train today or recover today.”
England spent last week in Jersey when preparations for their autumn opener against Tonga at Twickenham on November 6 began in earnest.

To add variety to the training schedule, on Tuesday the squad swam 700m out to sea while guiding a paddle board in teams with the aim of improving their communication and challenging them physically.

“We all got home, but not very efficiently! It was fun. It is all about team building. We had a few anchors in our pack but that is a team, you bring them with you,” said Curry.

“They might pull you back a bit but you just crack on and that is what we did. The fitness of it is incredible. You get a new respect for it.” 

England failed to fire in the Six Nations, their campaign finishing with a 32-18 loss to Ireland in Dublin. Regardless of the team’s performance, Curry received a callup from Warren Gatland to represent the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, starting in each Test on course to a series loss at the hands of the Springboks.

“In terms of the overall experience, it was extremely special,” Curry, when asked about his time with the Lions, said.
“I’m sure without Covid it would have changed a few bits and bobs. It’s about when it comes to every game, you have to be pushing every single one. It’s about making sure those little moments make a huge difference to the game, and ultimately the final outcome.”

Still only 23, Curry now has 33 caps for England under his belt and has been a mainstay in the back-row under Eddie Jones. As a result, he is already regarded as one of the senior players in the England squad this Autumn Nations Series campaign.

There are four uncapped players in the squad selected for England this autumn, with Sale Sharks teammate Raffi Quirke, former teammate Nic Dolly, as well as Northampton Saints’ Tommy Freeman and Gloucester’s Mark Atkinson all hoping to make their international debuts in the coming weeks.

Freddie Steward, Marcus Smith, Harry Randall, Adam Radwan, Alex Dombrandt, Trevor Davison, Callum Chick and Jamie Blamire are all returners too, that eight having made their Test debuts against the USA and Canada during the summer.

Spending the last week in Jersey training, England have also been doing a host of team building activities. Whether this was a race on the English Channel or spending time with one another away from Jersey’s high-performance facility, Strive.

With this newfound responsibility, Curry says that his own leadership style is still developing at this relatively early stage of his career.

“Probably just not overthinking it,” he said. “I think you probably get a bit carried away with ‘you need to do this, this, this’. At the end for the day for me, you have to be playing your best game to be able to do any of that before you are able to do anything else.
“You have to be playing well yourself, so it is about not distracting from that and then how you get to that is being authentic and make sure that it comes across like that. There is a few different aspects you can work on to become a better leader.

“Getting help with that and being conscious of stuff like that, but it is not about changing who you are and what you are about, it is just about kind of adding a little bit.

“It is all about yourself and being authentic. No one is asking you to stand up here, Winston Churchill style. It is how you find out about yourself and your own journey. That is the exciting thing for me, it is all about being yourself because A; you will do it. And B; you will bring more people with you.”

By the time England’s game against Tonga takes place, the squad will have been together for the better part of two weeks. It is this relatively short time period that makes the time spent together in camp all the more important. AUS ENG Rugby 2021 stream free

Before coming to the northern hemisphere, Tonga’s last game was a crushing 102-0 loss against the All Blacks and Mount Smart Stadium. Since then, they played out a 60-14 loss at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon.