Why Tom Curry is backing Steve Borthwick despite England exodus

Tom Curry has given Steve Borthwick his seal of approval despite recent negative speculation about the England head coach following an exodus of back room staff. Defence coach Felix Jones handed in his resignation out of the blue, head of strength and conditioning Aled Walers quit to work instead with Andy Farrell’s Ireland, Tom Tombleson, another S&C specialist, also departed, while the future of Kevin Sinfield has yet to be settled.

Despite this upheaval, which has created uncertainty over whether the notice-serving Jones will be involved for the Autumn Nations Series, Curry has given his full backing to Borthwick, the coach who took him on England’s recent end-of-season tour to Japan and New Zealand.

Having undergone career-saving surgery last December on a hip injury that left him seized up on the Sale training ground just weeks after Rugby World Cup 2023 ended in a bronze medal finish, Curry made a second-half comeback in Sharks’ Gallagher Premiership semi-final loss at Bath.

That cameo helped to convince Borthwick to include Curry in his tour squad and the back-rower has now given his England boss a ringing endorsement ahead of an Autumn Nations Series that kicks off versus New Zealand on November 2.

“Honestly, I genuinely don't care. As in, what's happened has happened,” said Curry about the recent England staff upheaval. “I genuinely think the world of Steve. He has been brilliant to me.

“I have worked with him for a long time so I trust him to fill those positions but honestly I don't care, what's happened has happened. We're just going to crack on and get better. I don't think you can have any other thought process apart than that.

“I'm excited. It will be fun whatever happens. As players we have to step up anyway. We all just have to move in the right direction. That can only be a benefit to have new ideas. You have to think of the positives. What's the point of anything else?”

Curry was chuffed with last June’s England recall. “It meant everything. To have that trust was good. To have the other Sale players around and see them grow in that environment was really cool.

“It was crazy, I walked in and it felt like England U20s again. It was really fun to be a part of. In terms of being able to have that confidence from Steve and the coaches, it was massive.

“I missed a bit of the World Cup at the start, played a bit, missed the Six Nations. I just want to repay him by getting myself fit, stay fit, and playing as well as I can really.”

Curry added that it was never in his mind to skip the summer tour, as he wanted to play and not rest after completing his six-month post-operation comeback. “At that point, I don’t know whether it was because of the semi-final but I was thinking, ‘I just want more of this. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point’.

“Whether it was England or Sale, I just wanted to play rugby at that point. You work so hard and then think, ‘Why do I want five weeks off?’ The chances are I wouldn’t be able to relax.

“I wanted to do something and representing your country is a no-brainer. It was nice working with the coaches again; Ben (Curry) and Joe (Carpenter). having the Sale lads in that environment was pretty special to me. I just wanted to play rugby, to be honest.”

Borthwick’s control over his England stars has been emboldened by the recent confirmation of the new professional game partnership where he can now have the final say on the sports science/medical situations of up to 25 players, even sidelining them from club matches so that they are fit for Test duty.

Curry didn’t say whether he would one of these players who will receive an enhanced elite player squad contract next month, giving Borthwick control of his activities. “Good question. I can’t answer that,” he said.

What he did say was that Borthwick and his staff looked after him excellently in the Far East and New Zealand. “With the tour Steve for me was unbelievable, he gave me loads of confidence, and with the physios, the S&Cs, everyone was brilliant with me.

“He understood, he managed me really well I thought. We had loads of conversations the whole way. I'd be trying to do my extras and Steve would pull me and say, ‘Do you really need that?’

“I learnt a lot off him; he told me stories about his playing career and where he thought he could have been smarter. For me, at that time, I thought that was the perfect learning from someone like Steve. I have got full confidence in him and I couldn't think of a better tour to be part of, results aside.”