England coach Borthwick defends Curry selection

REACTION: Tom Curry has been named in England’s squad for their tour of Japan and New Zealand despite a warning from his club coach that including him would be “guaranteed” to shorten his career.

The 25-year-old Sale flank, whose twin brother Ben is also in the 36-man squad, has been included despite playing for just 34 minutes since last year’s World Cup.

Curry recovered from a hip injury he described as a “car crash” in time to make a brief appearance in Sale’s Premiership play-off semifinal defeat by Bath on June 1.

After the match Sharks boss Alex Sanderson warned that he should not be part of the England tour, which starts with a game against Japan later this month.

But England coach Steve Borthwick defended his decision after announcing his squad on Monday.

“Tom is a world-class player,” he said. “Anybody who watched the semifinal when he came off the bench and played that last 35 minutes of the game will have seen the impact he had.

“The respective medical and strength and conditioning with Sale and England have been liaising around Tom for a long period, as you would expect.”

Borthwick, a former England captain, added: “Most importantly was the conversation I had with Tom. We spoke about this series and this is a player who is desperate to be a part of this England team and wants to play in these games.

“Player welfare is vital to us and every report I’ve got from the people who understand the injuries and the knocks these people take far better than I do tell me that Tom is in fantastic condition.”

Ready for our Summer Series 🤩

Steve Borthwick has named a 36-player squad to travel to Japan and New Zealand 🛫@O2 | #WearTheRose pic.twitter.com/BLn7IIq5xz

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 10, 2024