‘It is all quite strange’ – Tom Curry

Colin Newboult

England and Sale Sharks back-row Tom Curry says that every rugby player is currently in limbo after competitions around the world were suspended because of the coronavirus.

The Premiership has provisionally been postponed until late April but that will likely be extended, with some expecting it to last for six months.

Players are currently at home due to clubs being shut down and the restrictions put in place by the UK government, and Curry concedes that there is a lack of ‘clarity’ at the moment.

“Everyone is in the same boat at the moment, no one has ever been through something like this so it is all quite strange,” he told the Daily Mail.

“You just have to keep doing what you are doing, nothing really changes for us, for everyone else it does, for us it is just staying on the horse.

“We don’t have loads of clarity yet as to what the season holds for us, whether we are playing or not playing, so once we get a bit more news on that front we can start building towards something.

“For now, it is much more on a personal level and making sure you get your own stuff right, take the positives and use every day to get better.”

After the final weekend of the Six Nations was postponed, Sale were set to take on Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby Cup showpiece event, but that was called off when a member of the Londoners’ staff contracted coronavirus-like symptoms.

Curry added: “One game doesn’t change a whole season, we are disappointed to miss the final and there is a bit less silverware in the cabinet but mentally it is just one more game.”

The 21-year-old played a key part in England’s recent Six Nations campaign but was named in the unfamiliar position of number eight.

Eddie Jones believes that the youngster can become an effective player in that slot, but Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond has stated that they will continue to select him at flanker.

Curry does not mind where he features, however, having improved as the recent international tournament went on.

“I don’t really care in terms of what number is on my back, whether six, seven, eight I will just play my game,” he said.

“It doesn’t change who I am, I’m not going back into club rugby storming into Steve Diamond’s office saying I need to play at number eight because it is not right, it is not what I am about.

“I will play where I am put and where is best for the team. I think Dimes would tell me to go away if I brought it up!”

 

England