How Earl resolved his Curry complex

SARRIES PAL HELPED BEN BECOME STARTER

- Adam Hathaway

BEN EARL needed some help to break through the glass ceiling of international rugby and got it from former Saracens club-mate Calum Clark.

A back-rower like Earl, Clark retired in 2021 but stayed at Saracens in a player psychological support role.

The now 34-year-old was once banned for 32 weeks for a challenge on Leicester's Rob Hawkins, but he has mellowed.

Earl had a stop-start beginning to his international career, coming off the bench 15 times from 2020 before finally starting against Wales at Twickenham last month.

He watched as contemporary Tom Curry, inset, nailed down a back-row position, becoming undroppable under Eddie Jones and representing the Lions.