Curry, who started four Six Nations games in eighth place in 2020, has continued to develop his ball-carrying ability since making his test debut
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English flanker Tom Curry could develop into a player who can compete with the great Richie McCaw of All Black, says striker-coach Matt Proudfoot.
The 22-year-old Curry has become one of England’s mainstays and has won 32 caps since his test debut in June 2017.
McCaw led New Zealand to two rugby World Cup triumphs, During his career, he won 148 international matches and three awards as World Player of the Year.
“He’s a special, special player,” Proudfoot told BBC Sport of Curry.
When asked about the qualities of the back row, Proudfoot continued: “His attitude towards growth and improvement, his determination, his relentless training regime … how he takes information on board, asks questions and makes sure he adds the right thing to his game.
“When you see that in a player, you know they’ll come a long, long way.
“When you look at how Tom has improved over the past three or four years, if he just keeps on growing, I think he could be another McCaw in three or four years.”
Proudfoot announced that he had targeted curry as an important part of the English team while at South Africa.
Tom Curry and Siya Kolisi meet during the England tour of South Africa in 2018
Curry made his second, third and fourth appearances for England during a three-test tour of South Africa in 2018.
“When England toured South Africa in 2018, we highlighted him as one of the main threats on his team,” he recalled.
“We actually tried to get a little closer to him and put him under pressure.
“I think he was the man of the game in the first or second test. He was 19 or 20 at the time. It speaks volumes for his character.”
“We won’t be happy to finish second.”
Genge came into play in the 62nd minute of Saturday’s 23:20 win against France
According to Prop Ellis Genge, England can still be proud of their Six Nations campaign if they beat Ireland in their final game on Saturday.
England’s title defense will come soon after losing to Scotland and Wales but, after beating France last weekend You could still finish second on the table if the results go their way.
“We won’t be happy to finish second, but as a group we accepted the way we started and parked this competition,” Genge told BBC Sport.
“If we beat France and Ireland, it’s not a bad place.”
Genge also revealed that teammate Ollie Lawrence was partly responsible for his heavy peroxide blonde hairstyle.
“I thought Ollie was working or training at Toni & Guy or something because he was telling me everything and I was listening,” added Genge.
“He cut my hair and it was absolutely miserable, really bad. I had the worst dissolve I’ve had in my life.
“So I thought if I dye it blonde no one can see it.
“In the past, I dyed my hair blonde and it turned ginger. So I got this peroxide, it said leave it on for about 20 minutes, I left it on for an hour.
“It burned, but I like it pretty weird.”
