Veteran Ben Currie of Warrington Wolves has performed admirably in his favourite role of 13 this season thanks to head coach Sam Burgess’s faith in him.
And thanks to his strong play at loose forward for the Wire, the 29-year-old has managed to hold onto his spot in the England national side. Shaun Wane called him up for this Saturday’s Test match in Toulouse against France.
In 2024, Currie is averaging around 32 tackles per game and has made use of his ball-playing skills to form a strong spine for Warrington.
The England international, whose ancestry has allowed him to play for Ireland in the past, has commended Warrington coach Burgess for his recent form.
Currie told Love Rugby League, “I always wanted to do this since I was 13 years old.” “The dream was to always be a 13 and a 13 for your nation, so I will be ecstatic if it comes true.
“The game obviously changed as I progressed, and the back row worked better for me, but it’s kind of returning to its previous form now that the 13 is becoming more involved in the ball play so I’m really enjoying it.
“I’ve been making suggestions for a few years to try and return there (at loose forward), and Sam took the risk this year, hopefully with success.
“Obviously, I was a player with Burgess during the 2017 World Cup, so he’s got the perfect balance between coach and player down pat.
People want to play for him because he is one of the best man managers I’ve ever seen and has assembled a strong coaching group around him.
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve experienced a little setback; obviously, we returned to winning ways this past weekend (against Hull), but it’s clear that he has a lot of players playing.”
Currie, a former Golborne Parkside junior, came through the ranks at Warrington as a loose forward but has played the majority of his career as a back-rower until a recent switch to his preferred position, and he has even played a fair bit at centre for club and country.
Explaining why he prefers to play loose forward, Currie said: “I just feel you control more of what happens. In the back-row sometimes you are kind of waiting a bit for the ball to come to you whereas at 13 you are kind of involved from the off.
“Obviously it’s tougher in defence, it’s non-stop tackle after tackle but it gets you in the game and gets you involved instead of sometimes letting the game pass you by.
“I pride myself on my fitness. Not many people can do full games or big minutes through the middle so I pride myself on that and hopefully I can keep building on it.”
Currie has been in camp with England this week, with the team flying out to the south of France on Friday morning ahead of Saturday’s mid-season Test against Laurent Frayssinous’ side.
Although he would love the opportunity to play at 13 for England, Currie insists he is happy to play anywhere for his country.
He added: “I’ve a little chat with Waney, we’re undecided yet on where we’re going to play but when we start training today (Wednesday) and tomorrow (Thursday) I’m sure we’ll get the gist of it and find out. Either way I’ll put my hand up to play, I’ve played centre before, I’ve filled in at half, I’ll play anywhere for England, so we’ll see what happens.
“I’d love to tie a certain position down for international but having the versatility I’ve got can get you in squads for major tournaments so I’m happy either way. I’m looking forward to training to see where I end up playing.
“It’s always a tough trip flying over there and playing in France. The squad they’ve put out seems to be very strong so it should be a close game, I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got a few debutants in the squad and a few younger boys but there’s a lot of talent knocking around so it’s going to be a good game.”
