Tom Curry will miss England’s next two World Cup matches against Japan and Chile after he was suspended for his red card in their opening pool match against Argentina last Saturday.
Curry accepted that his tackle on Argentina’s Juan Cruz Mallía warranted a red card at his disciplinary hearing on Tuesday and was handed a three-match ban, which will be reduced to two provided the flanker attends “tackle school”.
The 25-year-old became the fourth England player to be sent off since March when tackling Mallía in the third minute of his side’s defiant 27-10 victory in Marseille. It was Curry’s first England appearance under Steve Borthwick and his first match since late May after sustaining an ankle injury over the summer.
Mitigating his absence, Billy Vunipola is available again after suspension and could come into the side at No 8 with Ben Earl moving to openside. England are well stocked in the back row, however, and Jack Willis and Lewis Ludlam are alternative options.
Curry did not take part in England’s main training session on Tuesday lunchtime, instead doing indoor work, which suggested that Borthwick was already planning for Saturday’s match against Japan without him. By accepting the charge, England have avoided another disciplinary circus similar to that which surrounded Owen Farrell following his sending off against Wales last month. That said, some supporters remain confused as to why Curry has been punished while South Africa’s Jesse Kriel and Chile’s Martin Sigren were not for similar – if not identical – tackles.
The upshot is that Curry is deprived of valuable game time against Japan though it is unlikely he would have been selected to face Chile in any case and Borthwick will have him back at his disposal for England’s final pool match against Samoa. The entry point for Curry’s ban was six weeks but after the panel considered mitigating factors such as admitting foul play and the “correctness of the red card at the first opportunity” as well as an exemplary disciplinary record he was awarded the maximum reduction of 50%.
Meanwhile, England have called on the services of their former second-row George Kruis, who has joined the squad in Le Touquet as a lineout consultant. Kruis, 33, was part of the squad that reached the World Cup final in 2019 and won 45 caps before announcing his retirement last year.
During his career he was widely considered a lineout specialist, working closely with Borthwick when the current head coach was one of Eddie Jones’ assistants and during their time together at Saracens. Having spent the final two years of his career in Japan with the Panasonic Wild Knights, Kruis is also familiar with a number of England’s opponents on Sunday.
“George helps with the lineout,” said England’s attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth. “[He] and Steve chat for hours behind closed doors and I really don’t want to listen to those conversations. They have a proper lineout nause-off. He helps the callers and the lineout menu that they get. All that detail that I don’t need to know. It’s great to have him around because he has an affinity with so many of the lads. It’s been really nice having him for a few days. He’ll be jetting in and out a bit but he’s always on the phone and speaking with Steve.”
