England vs New Zealand: Sam Underhill determined to seize his chance as Tom Curry injury opens door to return
Bath flanker lost his place in the side due to injury, but could come full circle this weekend as Curry’s absence leaves the openside shirt vacant
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Your support makes all the difference.Tom Curry’s loss could well be Sam Underhill’s gain, and though that is not how the Bath flanker would have wanted to earn his England recall, it is more often than not through other’s misfortune that opportunities at Test rugby arise.
Having been released back to his club last week, Underhill experienced the disappointment that a select few have to cope with every Test week. The drive home on a Tuesday is one that no player wants to make, as instead of preparing to face the Springboks at Twickenham as part of the Quilter Internationals, it was instead getting ready for Bath’s Premiership Rugby Cup against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park.
This week, things are different. With Curry ruled out for the rest of the autumn with an ankle injury, Underhill has been retained in the squad that will take on New Zealand this weekend. The 22-year-old is in with a shout of filling the No 7 shirt that Curry has left vacant, and after initially losing it because of injury, it would be an appropriate way to regain it.
The Ohio-born back-row decided to move from Welsh side the Ospreys to Bath last year in order to pursue his international aspirations, and was rewarded for his loyalty with England starts against Argentina in the summer and again in the autumn along with Australia. But after suffering a second concussion of the season against the Wallabies, he was stood down by Bath until January that meant he lost his place in the starting XV to Chris Robshaw, and although he made impressive appearances off the bench in the first three matches of the Six Nations – including that tackle on Scott Williams of Wales – a toe injury in England training abruptly ended his season.
Now he is firmly back in the mix, and though he feels for Curry following his setback, he hopes to seize any chances that come his way.
“Of course I (hope he gets better),” Underhill said. “I’m pretty gutted that Tom’s injured for the weekend, I thought he did really well and he’s been fantastic in training in the build-up to the match. He thoroughly deserved to start.
“I think there’s competition for places but at the end of the day we’re all squad mates, especially now, and we all want to see each other do well.
“I’d be delighted with any involvement. I was delighted to be involved in the camp and I think as a player your selection is out of your hands, all you can do is put your best foot forwards in training and hope for the best, so from my point of view not an awful lot changes but I’d be delighted to have any involvement.”
But while he is the only natural openside left in the squad, his selection is not a given. Both Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick have suggested that Mark Wilson, Saturday’s man-of-the-match, could move to openside with either Brad Shields or Zach Mercer at No 8 and, potentially, Maro Itoje moving into the back-row.
Whichever selection Jones decides to take, it cannot be overlooked that Underhill would only add to the impressive defensive display witnessed last weekend. He is fondly remembered by England supporters for his try-saving tackle in February this year – which undoubtedly saved them from suffering defeat at Twickenham – and it is a moment that has stuck with him.
“That was a huge day, probably one of my favourite days playing rugby,” he recalls. “Any game for England is special, particularly at Twickenham. As a kid growing up in England you want to play rugby for England at Twickenham and you want to be winning there. I’d be delighted to get back there again.”
At 22, you would hedge your bets of seeing Underhill wearing the red rose again in the near-future. But even though he has been limited to just three starts and six caps in 17 months, he is not looking to make up for lost time.
“I think that’s just the nature of the sport. You’re going to get injured, you’re going to miss games and stuff,” he said. “There’s probably a small element of that, but I think when you get back your attitude has got to be what’s best for the team, I don’t think you can be looking to make up for stuff like lost game time or whatever and start going off-script and do anything just for yourself.
“From our point of view not an awful lot changes, when we’re back in we’re team focused and trying to catch up.”
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