It feels remarkable that Tom Curry will only be 27 years old on Tour in Australia given all he has achieved in the game so far.
Curry’s trip Down Under will be his second Lions Tour, after starting all three Tests in South Africa four years ago.
Combined with over half a century of England caps and two World Cup medals despite a host of injuries, it is reflective of his prodigious talent and work rate that has seen him become one of the best back rows in the world.
From Crewe & Nantwich RUFC to the world, this is the making of Tom Curry.
In the blood
Curry grew up with rugby all around him, with his family making an indelible impact on his education, sporting or otherwise.
Growing up alongside twin brother Ben, also a future England international, Curry was coached by dad David all the way up to the age of 16.
“There was a lot of positive discrimination against them,” David wrote in Rugby World.
“They had the highest standards. I never wanted a parent to think they had any favouritism, so they had to work harder than the others.”
David, who was also the head teacher of Bishop Herber High School, the school both brothers attended, played for Rosslyn Park, while uncle John Olver represented England in three Tests in the 1990s.
The family connection continued when the brothers went to Oundle School for sixth form, with Olver the Head of Rugby at the school.
But it wasn’t all about rugby. Curry also thrived in the classroom and was considering a career in veterinary services, while he also played football and cricket to high levels before opting for the oval ball.
At the Shark end
After developing at Crewe & Nantwich under a watchful paternal eye, Curry joined the Sale Sharks pathway and made his senior debut against Scarlets in October 2016.
In doing so, he became the youngest Sharks player to appear in the European Champions Cup, and the club’s fourth-youngest player overall.
He then scored on his Premiership debut and was named Sale Sharks’ Young Player of the Season for 2016-17 jointly alongside twin Ben.
The shared award was indicative of the journey the twin brothers shared for much of their early careers, that extended to living together in their early Sale careers.
“My brother has made a huge difference,” Curry told The Telegraph. “I remember the first three years of our professional careers. We would train at the club, go back to the Sale Academy house in Manchester and then we would jump on the tram and go to the gym in the evening, and do that three times a week.
“We weren't driving at the time. We would probably leave the house at six and get back at 9.30pm. We just loved it.
We had been doing lower-level stuff like that from the age of 13 and it's become ingrained in our lifestyles.”
His performances that season earned a call-up to the England Under-20 squad, with whom he won the Six Nations Under-20 Grand Slam in 2017.
A senior call-up from Eddie Jones soon followed, and Curry has been an integral player for club and country since.
England honours
Curry continued to break more records on stepping up to the England squad, becoming the youngest forward to start for England since 1912 upon his Test debut against Argentina in 2017.
The back row quickly established himself as a key part of the side heading towards the 2019 World Cup, starting all matches in that year’s Six Nations before starting in the World Cup final against South Africa. The year ended with a nomination for World Player of the Year.
His partnership with Sam Underhill was labelled the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ by Jones, but three years later the Australian he was drawing comparisons with an All Blacks legend.
“He reminds me of a young Richie McCaw,” said Jones. “It's all about getting the team on the front foot. That goes in line with how we want to play the game.”
By that stage, Curry had added a Six Nations title to his name in 2020 but was also enduring more injuries, notably a string of concussions and hamstring tears.
Curry recovered in time for England’s 2023 World Cup campaign, only to be sent off three minutes into the opening match against Argentina. Yet the flanker bounced back to win his starting jersey back and start the semi-final defeat to South Africa.
Soon after, Curry was ruled out for the season by a hip injury, and subsequent surgery, that doctors initially told him would force him to retire.
“I literally just cried,” he told The Guardian. “I curled up into a ball. I just couldn’t really process it. It was a surreal moment. But you just have to go through those raw emotions then process it all.”
Curry was not one to take the diagnosis lying down, and has fought back stoically to return to fitness against the odds to star for England in the 2025 Six Nations, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament. It proved perfect timing to be included in a second Lions Tour.
It has required remarkable sacrifice, including stem-cell therapy in order to prolong his career, and Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has seen him develop over time.
“Due to his personality, pushing the boat out too far in every session and every game, his ability to go after everything with everything he’s got was to some degree breaking his body apart,” he said.
“He’s had to come to that acceptance and understanding while he’s been rehabbing and looking at the rest of his career. I’ve enjoyed that with him, he’s matured as a person.”
Lions calling
Curry’s strong form for club and country earned him a maiden Lions call-up from Warren Gatland in 2021.
The flanker made three appearances before the first Test in Cape Town, which he started as the Lions won 22-17. He held onto his starting jersey for the other two Tests as the Lions ultimately lost the series 2-1.
Four years on, and Curry’s reputation as one of the best breakdown operators is still as gilded and he will be determined to pick up where he left off Down Under.
