England have insisted that they have no concerns about Tom Curry’s return to the squad for the fixture against Japan after the flanker suffered a second concussion of the season.
Curry was absent from the defeat to South Africa after appearing to be knocked out against Australia 10 days ago in an attempted tackle on Rob Valetini.
The 26-year-old sustained a head injury in mid-September while playing for Sale Sharks, his fifth concussion in two years, having also overcome a career-threatening hip issue earlier in the year.
The flanker would appear to be in line to feature against Japan on Sunday having come through all of the return-to-play protocols.
But England assistant coach Andrew Strawbridge has admitted that they are working on Curry’s technique to ensure he stays safe in contact.
“There is not a coach on the planet that isn’t desperately concerned about the welfare of the players they coach,” Strawbridge said. “He’s been through every protocol that exists and we’re making some finer adjustments about how he enters contact – both sides of the ball – to keep himself safe. He’s 100 per cent fit, healthy and ready to go.
“There are some fundamental aspects to contact [that we are working on]. Some of the bravest men are some of the most at risk, so how do we mitigate the risk? How do we keep him finding his shoulder, rather than a head?
“They are tiny little things, it’s not a major change in a man’s game. There are some little issues that’ll bring his shoulder into the game, which is what we all want, and take his head out of the game, if possible. There’s no major issue at all. He’s a very brave player.”
Five consecutive defeats have piled the pressure on England as they take face a familiar foe in former coach Eddie Jones as he brings Japan to Twickenham on Sunday.
While Steve Borthwick is safe in his role for now, a shock defeat to end November could leave his position untenable.
Strawbridge, from Hamilton in New Zealand, is the lone outside voice in a coaching staff otherwise formed of Englishmen and also serves as an advisor, “helping coaches to coach” since his arrival on an initial consultancy period during the Six Nations.
The veteran very nearly joined Borthwick while the former lock was in charge of Leicester Tigers and rates his coaching qualities highly.
“He has conducted himself really well,” Strawbridge explained. “He has remained focussed on the task in hand and that is growing a group of players.
“He has a real clarity about the way he wants to play. I’m not a party line tower so the fact he’s happy to have someone like me in the environment and scratch at whatever sore or pick at something, says a lot about him and his strengths.
“When I was going to go and work with at Leicester, I made sure that the conversations we had about our fit were challenging. That he could cope with that, not get thrown by it, but also not pander to anything I thought, was a good strong give and take. I think we are getting better at the give and take. Just the other day we talked about disagreeing and committing. That authenticity is something I respect.”
Strawbridge’s last role was with the All Blacks, with the former Waikato director of rugby called in to help out the under-fire Ian Foster during a lean period for New Zealand.
Before a game against South Africa at Ellis Park in August 2022, Foster was informed that he was unlikely to be continuing in his role were New Zealand to lose to the Springboks. Foster’s side secured victory and he went on to lead the team to a World Cup final little more than a year later.
“I don’t think the heat [here] is any more or less than it ever is in Test rugby, honestly,” Strawbridge admitted when reflecting on his varied coaching experiences. “Ian Foster went to South Africa [in 2022] being told that there was an expectation he resigned after the second Test. That is heat. That is f****** heat. He dealt with that really well, maturely; back-against-the-wall stuff.
“I’m not comparing environments – it’s not my job. My job is to help and assist. You cannot afford to be too externally focused – we have stuff to do here. You can’t take your eye off the ball. It’s a little bit like that as a coach. If we start feeling the heat too much and we’re letting that alter our behaviours or are true north, then we’re not doing our job.”
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