England defense coach Kevin Sinfield insists Tom Curry is buying into the need to be disciplined. Photo: Getty Images/Pascal Guyot
England have gone 400 minutes unbeaten at this World Cup and, bar extra time, are 160 minutes away from World Cup glory; but their pugnacious flanker Tom Curry featured in less than half the matches. bye
Curry, who led his country at Murrayfield in the Calcutta Cup just 18 months ago, has so far been limited to 150 minutes in the tournament due to a two-match ban for a heavy tackle on Argentina defender Juan Cruz Mallia. in England's first victory. In his first international match in 10 months, the flanker lasted three minutes before being given his marching orders by Mathieu Raynal.
Whatever your opinion on the sending off, Curry looked subdued after his return against Samoa and then Fiji. And where before he could cause inconvenience to the opposition, now he risks becoming a hindrance to his own side.
Against Fiji last Sunday he was at times flying with all the confidence of a dazed blue bottle, trying to find an open window. His game has never veered into mindless illegality, but there are concerns that it often doesn't go that far.
The Racing 92 team were less than impressed with the flanker's approach in Marseille last weekend. Taking aim at Curry, the French aristocrats blamed the 25-year-old's «brutal unarmed tackle» in the quarter-final win over Fiji as the reason their star center Josua Tuisov faces an indefinite stay on the pitch. aside.
Racing 92 was disappointed with Curry's tackle on Joshua Tuisov
Curry may have been fortunate that the Fijian carnival as they left the Stade Velodrome, even in defeat, may well have distracted the Pacific Islanders from making a formal complaint to Sunday's citation commissioner. It's not that the flanker would have been banned, but the clear nature of Racing's statement (led by Stuart Lancaster) suggests they believe the England flanker is on the right track.
Of course, that's part of Curry's shtick. It was the no-holds-barred approach that led former England head coach Eddie Jones to label Curry and fellow 2019 flanker Sam Underhill «kamikaze kids». At that tournament, Curry was the omnipresent and shining star of the England team. On average, he transported more in 2019 than in 2023, according to Opta; made more meters, beat more defenders, won more turnovers, made fewer tackles and conceded fewer penalties.
Kevin Sinfield, England's defensive coach, admitted on Tuesday that England's discipline needs to improve across the board. but Curry shares this vision and plan.
“I think he understands that as a team we place a lot of emphasis on discipline,” Sinfield said. “It’s not just defensive discipline, it’s plan discipline, discipline in how we play the ball, how we hit the ball. We need everyone to agree to this. Tom has it.
“I think the position he plays and the amount of collisions and contact he is involved in means he is more likely to be pinged than anyone else.
“However, it is clear that we need to be better. We conceded too many penalties at the weekend, more than we would have liked, and when someone scores two or three, it's important that we as coaches take notice and talk to them.»
Line There has never been a finer line between what is legal and what is illegal in rugby; the gap between responsibility and legend never narrowed. The reason Curry's avant-garde ways were tolerated without fear in 2019 is because when a player tears it up, the odd missed penalty can be forgiven.
In 2023, the elephant in the room is Curry struggling to recapture his best record in the Japanese game while playing in a more reckless manner. Essentially, and at his best, the flanker is a world player, capable of terrorizing even the best attacking rucks, disrupting even the most difficult or punishing attacks. However, we have yet to see that at this World Cup.
There is no better time to reveal that than against the Springboks this weekend. Of course England will need it. Steve Borthwick's team will also demand that Curry leave the kamikaze in Marseille.
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