Have Calders got answer for England’s twin peaks?

Brendan Gallagher says  the Curry brothers may be chasing one international place but that precedent has been set by a pair of famous Scottish forwards.
Identical twin brothers Ben and Tom Curry played alongside each other in the backrow for England U18 against Scotland last week but they could be struggling to repeat that extraordinary achievement at senior level.
Star players at Oundle School the twins are both 6ft 2in, nearly 15st, and specialist openside flankers and once they move into senior ranks are likely to be in fierce competition for the same place.
“I've tried to warn my sister Susanne  and all the family that it might get difficult once they leave school,” jokes former England hooker John Olver, their coach at Oundle, who happens to be the twins' uncle.
“At school I play them six and seven or left and right and Tom also can switch to No.8 which is what he did in the second half against Scotland last week when the boys got to represent England together.
“But the truth is they are both out and out sevens, certainly at senior level. There will come a point in their careers when they are competing for the same place.
“They've been absolutely outstanding for us at Oundle. I've been the rugby master in charge for 20 years and I could be here another 100 years and not have the pleasure of coaching two more influential players.
“They have made a stunning contribution to our rugby.”
The brothers are from Bishop Heper HS in Malpas, Cheshire, which is where Ben Foden learned his rugby and, like Foden, they are also closely associated with Sale Sharks where they are members of the academy.
Steve Diamond has already clocked them.
Olver said: “To somebody meeting them for the first time they are absolutely identical and I can imagine that has caused fun and games over the years at County trials and things.
“I've obviously known them for years and coach them most days and can usually tell the difference. Ben has a slightly different gait, he takes shorter strides when he walks. Tom is slightly the more flamboyant player, Ben more unobtrusive.
“But both are cracking prospects and have bright futures.”
Examples of twin brothers playing together internationally, as you might expect, have been few and far between with Australia seeming to be the epicentre. Speedsters Jim and Steward Boyce played on opposite wings for Australia on four occasions, most notably during the Wallabies frst ever series win against the Springboks in 1965.
Next came the Ella twins Mark and Glen who were first capped in tandem against Scotland in 1982 while younger brother Gary also won six Test caps for the Wallabies, although not concurrent with his older brothers. Both the twins and Gary were midfield backs.

More recently Australia have been able to call on a third set of twins, hooker Saia Fainga'a, a hooker, and his centre brother Anthony, who made their Australia debut together in a 20-10 Bledisloe Cup defeat against New Zealand at Christchurch in 2010.
A younger brother Colby plays flanker for the Melbourne Red while another brother Vili has represented Tonga at wing forward.
The only twin brothers to have played for New Zealand together are the Whettons – Gary and Alan – who lead the way statistically  playing 34 Tests together with both being ever present in the 1987 World Cup. Gary was a rangy athletic lock while Alan was a mean machine blindside flanker.
Argentina can boast two sets of twin brothers at Test level. Felipe Contepomi was a permanent fixture in the Pumas team for a decade or more and was occasionally joined by his twin Manuel, a strapping centre, who played at the 1999 and 2007 World Cups.
Wing Daniel Beccar Varela and centre Gonzalo Beccar Varela joined forces four times during the mid-Seventies, notably in the side that narrowly lost 20-19 to a fully booted and suited Wales XV at the Arms Park in 1976.
Italy can look to the Cuttitta twins, massive contributors to the Italy side throughout much of the Nineties, who displayed perhaps the biggest disparity in build and physical attributes. Marcello was a razor sharp world class wing – 25 tries in 54 Tests – who Italy have never come close to replacing, while Massimo was a powerful scrummaging prop.
Marcello broke into the national team earlier that Massimo and retired earlier but they started nine Tests together and both went to the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. While, back in the Seventies, long serving lock Paolo Fedrigo, winner of 41 Tests, was accompanied just the once by twin brother Paolo, a prop, when Italy lost 9-6 to Portugal.

The last known example, and perhaps the most pertinent for the Curry brothers is the case of Jim and Finlay Calder who remarkably never started a Scotland match together despite longish and illustrious careers, and thereby hangs a tale.
Jim was the first out of the blocks as a Test player at 21, an outstanding, rugged flanker with good pace and hands who blazed a trail for Scotland and earned a Lions place in 1983 before playing a lead hand in Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam.
But by 1985, at 26, it was over and the following season his Scotland place was usurped by twin Finlay who had been slower to devote himself full-time to the game but made mighty strides once he made that quantum leap.
Such was Scotland's riches back-row riches those days there wasn't room for both, an either or situation. Finlay went on to captain the 1989 Lions to victory in Australia and help Scotland to a 1990 Grand Slam. He won 34 Scotland caps and Jim, 27, but alas not one coincided.