Curry is the latest to shed red for England but admits: I didn’t think to save my iconic shirt from the wash

TOM CURRY was not thinking straight when he walked off Twickenham covered in blood and threw his England shirt straight in the wash.

Did he not consider how much that top would be worth, given the claretsplattered images which turned Terry Butcher, Jean-Pierre Rives and Neil Back into sporting icons?

“Er, no,” came the answer from England’s young tackling machine.

“If I was shown a picture of Terry Butcher, I wouldn’t know it was him.”

In Sweden, they still refer to Butcher (below) as “Captain Blood” in recognition of the wound he overcame there to skipper England to the draw needed to reach the 1990 World Cup.

Nobody pictures Rives, the legendary France rugby captain, without thinking red, white and blue – as in oozing blood, blond hair, blue shorts.

While Back’s reputation for being tough as teak was forged when he needed 25 stitches to sew his head back together during an EnglandSouth Africa clash in 2002. “I remember Jonny Wilkinson looking at me and wincing,” Back recalled years later. “I thought, ‘What’s the matter with you?’, then I caught sight of myself in a mirror and could see right through to my skull.” These are images from a bygone era for Curry, the Six Nations’ youngest forward, who has spent all but 18 months of his life in the 21st century. It is a reminder of just how youthful he is – and how much he has achieved in next to no time.

From his play against France, you could not guess the Sale starlet is just 20, though you might from the emotional response of mum Susanne when the blood started to spout from her son, one of identical twins.

Asked how his family reacted after the game, Curry replied: “My mum’s tears had dried up by then, I think! On Tuesday, she was still asking if my head was all right.

“She’s been trying to get me to wear a scrum cap for 20 years, but everyone is surprised how small the scar is, given how much blood there was! I didn’t even realise I was bleeding, it wasn’t painful. I thought I was just sweating. Then it came up on the screens and the crowd went, ‘Oooh!’.”

England’s focus has switched to a greater injury concern, with loosehead prop Ellis Genge (below, right) pulling up with a sore ankle. Coming 48 hours after injury ruled first-choice Mako Vunipola out for the rest of the championship, it has caused some consternation.

Jones’ team are in Cardiff to face Wales in a Grand Slam eliminator tomorrow week.

Curry, complete with six stitches, will be there, ready to make more memories – and this time not wash them away.