Tom Curry's mum was reduced to tears when confronted by the sight of her son gushing blood from a wound on his forehead in England's rout of France.
The gruesome image of Curry playing with his face and jersey covered in blood evoked memories of Three Lions hardman Terry Butcher, who was similarly soaked during a World Cup qualifier against Sweden in 1989.
At 20-years-old, Curry would not be born for another nine years when the famous photo of Butcher was taken and the Sale openside had to be told who the England defender was by forwards coach Steve Borthwick.
To accelerate his development, Curry studies footage of greater players in the position in the search for tips while confident in his own strengths.
"I'm not a fan of just focussing on one person because obviously you're your own person and have your different traits," he said.
"Michael Hooper, David Pocock and Francois Louw is obviously up there. George Smith's been a big one as well.
"I just look at everyone's individual games, taking little bits and forming almost like Frankenstein – you take bits that you might enjoy and push away stuff that you don't.
"So there's definitely aspects that you can take but you've got to realise what's good for you."
England are assessing the fitness of loosehead prop Ellis Genge after he was forced to withdraw from training because of an ankle issue.
