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Tom Curry's verdict on rugby's more fiercely contested breakdown
Tom Curry has urged England to capitalise on a rare opportunity to test themselves in a final as they go in hunt of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup. Eddie Jones’ team host France at Twickenham on Sunday when they will seek to avenge the loss in Paris that started an otherwise triumphant year headlined by winning the 2020 Six Nations title.
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The unavailability of 25 front line Les Bleus stars has devalued the occasion, but Curry insists that because the World Cup is the only other stage that offers the chance to take part in a final, there is still meaning to the event.
Thirteen months ago England were over-run by South Africa in the climax to Japan 2019 but Curry sees Sunday as a first significant staging post since then. “International rugby isn’t set-up to win loads of finals or trophies, Six Nations and different cups, so it is a case of showing how far we have come as a team,” Curry said.
“Finals have this big build-up, so we won’t treat this as a normal week. We will make sure we are making improvements every day to give that final performance. That unknown, that comes with all the French teams. How we control that is by focusing on ourselves.
“The game in Paris feels like a lifetime ago. Since then a lot has been learnt by myself personally, mainly the ability to adapt and learn on the move.”
Disappointing news coming out of Sale on Thursday morning #GallagherPrem https://t.co/PNUksAmM5b
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 3, 2020
World player of the year nominee Curry is among the first names on the England teamsheet on the basis of his work rate, power and breakdown expertise. It is the last of these skills that have received its most forensic examination during the autumn and while the contest on the floor has become an even more brutal battleground, the Sale flanker believes it is also safer now.
“The breakdown has certainly been fiercer than ever. Especially after the season restarted and the first few games when it was literally hands on the ball, turnover,” he said. “Teams are starting to see where the momentum is around the breakdown and staying engaged.
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“There are probably less big clear-outs now, which is a good thing. When someone is over the ball, hands pulling, refs are looking for that or the ball lift. You used to have to lift and then almost survive the cleanout and that was a dangerous way to look at it because lads would fly in looking to clean out.”
England’s coaching team has been strengthened by the appointment of Jason Ryles as skills coach from Australian rugby league, where he recently helped Melbourne Storm win their fourth grand final. Ryles had previously worked with Jones on an occasional basis starting in 2016 and his remit covers attack and defence, giving him a balanced perspective on the current trend of teams finding it more advantageous to play without the ball.
“All the talk is that it’s very contested at the moment and more defensive focused,” Ryles said. “That’s a challenge for us as coaches and players to maximise our attack and get as much as we can out of it. “Speed of ball is key, you want as quick a ball as possible. If you can’t get that, then you’re basically looking to give it back to them and get your field position that way.”
Episode 9 – Game Changers
We discuss the tense Wales vs England match from the weekend. Jamie reveals just how ruthless Shaun Edwards is! We speak to Mike Umaga on his son Jacob Umaga, and @OceansApartFilm !
iTunes – https://t.co/gfWdk5Vi8h
Spotify – https://t.co/JgbHP6KDdl pic.twitter.com/LF3nsAzp3c— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 2, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments