Kyle Sinclair won the race to prepare for the Rugby World Cup in France. Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney
Kyle Sinclair said England coaches believed the tough prop would make the World Cup after suffering a chest injury in August.
Sinclair was limited to three substitute appearances in the warm-up matches and was not part of England's playing squad for their opening Group D win over Argentina. However, the 30-year-old has since started back-to-back games against Japan and Chile.
Although Sinclair, whose meticulous preparation was described as «crazy» by striker Jonny May, believed he would always be there, however, that belief was not shared by everyone in the England squad when he was injured before the final warm-up against Fiji on August 26.
“The scan came back and it didn’t look good, but I knew it was going to be okay,” Sinclair said. “Fair play to the medical staff and Steve for trusting me and saying, 'I know my body, I'll be fine.' And honestly, thanks to my team, I have a job off the field too. They really came to me and helped me, and after that game I was recovering 24/7, so I'm really grateful to be here and hope I can get back to doing what I do.
“Honestly, I'm so excited to get back and play. It's been really tough, I'm just delighted to be here at my second World Cup, this is my 13th year of playing professional rugby so I'm just really grateful for this opportunity.»
As Telegraph Sport previously reported, accuracy in possession Sinclair's batting ability has dropped significantly since the last World Cup as he previously struggled with a back injury and his move to Bristol placed an emphasis on his tip-passing. However, since Steve Borthwick took over as head coach and then brought in Tom Harrison as scrum coach, Sinclair has been told he must be a jack of all trades and a master of the scrum.
Sinclair starts for England against Japan as Chile misses their first game. Photo: PA/David Davis
“I think the one thing I’m not expected to do is kick and take high balls,” Sinclair said. «I think the role has changed since I first came on the scene and the way I played with the emphasis on the prop, a lot of people said, 'You can't do it that way', carrying the ball, tipping, chasing, and I had I had to really work hard on my contraction because it didn't feel natural. Now we want you to make 10 carries, we want you to make 10 tackles, we want you to get two or three scrum penalties, we want you to be strong in the kick chain, we want you got into the crayfish so that the standard is high, and I expect it.
“The only way to get better at a scrum is to scrum and I’ve never been in so many scrums in my life in pre-season. It's actually been tough, it's been really tough, but the hard work we put in in pre-season is hopefully now starting to pay dividends. I know it might look like Chile, but they are a good team. They went toe-to-toe with Japan, they went toe-to-toe with Samoa, and these are up-and-coming countries. Obviously, they beat the USA, which is not stupid, and they were cool there.”
Having been teammates of Chris Vui and Stephen Luatua at Bristol, Sinclair knows the challenges England will face in their final pool match against Samoa on October 7. , Sinclair warned that they would not take Samoa lightly, not least because of their tackling prowess.
“In my experience of playing for England, you always have to keep your feet on the ground,” Sinclair said. — said Sinclair. “We're focused on Samoa because it's not the faces, it's physical as hell. I watched Argentina play and they got a yellow card after 40 seconds, so these guys will be delighted. You can never take it for granted: if you look too far ahead, you will never respect your next opponent and you will be in serious trouble.
“One thing that impressed me about Samoa is their piece work. If you look, especially in the first half against Argentina on Friday, these guys really beat Argentina in the scrum, and Argentina have a very, very good scrum, so we're going to have to put our pros and questions out there early.
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