Matt Currie's winning start made even better as brother Tom joins him at Edinburgh

Matt Currie (centre) in action for Edinburgh during the win over the Emirates Lions in the BKT URC at Hive Stadium. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Matt Currie played both games as Edinburgh opened their URC campaign with back-to-back wins and the centre’s start to the season has been made even better by having brother Tom in tow.

The 19-year-old followed in Matt’s footsteps when he joined the club in the summer as part of their latest academy intake and he’s not only been training alongside his older sibling but sharing a flat with him too. Tom, a flanker, was involved in Edinburgh’s pre-season game against Connacht and has since been playing for the Future XV in the Super Series which has been a testing baptism.

“It’s good having him in and I think he’s enjoying the process of learning here and he’s been playing a few games with the Futures as well,” said Matt, 22. “They’ve had a tough start but he’s enjoyed stepping up to the adult game. He’s definitely got a bit of potential. At school he did fairly well. He was injured in his last year but his team, Merchiston, won the schools cup two years in a row and he was captain with Isaac Coates who is also here [in the Edinburgh academy].

“He just needs to keep his head down and keep working. He’s enjoying being in here, he’s enjoying taking the learnings from it and hopefully he can push on.”

Tom Currie is part of the academy intake at Edinburgh this season and played in the friendly against Connacht at Hive Stadium in September. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Matt has certainly been doing that in the early stages of this season, starting at inside centre against the Dragons and Lions and helping Edinburgh grind out two hard-fought wins under new coach Sean Everitt. Currie has played the bulk of his rugby at 13 but has enjoyed the change.

“You get your hands on the ball quite a lot at 12 and you’re in more of a playmaking role, with a fair bit of carrying,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I necessarily have a preference. I’ve obviously played more at 13 in the past but I played a little bit at 12 when I was younger. We’ve spoken a little bit about versatility and that ability to play across different positions. In our backline we’ve got players who can play all over and I think that really helps.”