England hoping Curry can add spice in the loose
Coach Joe Schmidt insists there isn’t much of a difference between his Ireland side and England.
Yet there is a difference.
The main one is possession. The Irish hog the ball and the English wish they could.
Thanks to overwhelming ball control, Ireland have won their last two rugby match-ups, spoiling England’s Six Nations grand slam bid in 2017 at Lansdowne Road, and clinching their own grand slam in 2018 at Twickenham.
A grand slam isn’t on the line tomorrow morning (NZ time) in Dublin, but a grand event is guaranteed by teams who have shared the past five championships.
And when it comes to competing for the ball at the breakdown, England might finally be able to match Ireland thanks to loose forwards Tom Curry and Mark Wilson.
Given a second shot at England in June, Curry and Wilson grabbed it and came to prominence in November with their exceptional workrate. Now they pose the threat England has longed for at the breakdown that has been bossed by Ireland’s fantastic back-rowers Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, CJ Stander, Josh van der Flier and Dan Leavy. O’Mahony, van der Flier and Stander start tomorrow, with aggressive two-time Lions tourist O’Brien in reserve.
Curry and Wilson were tried and ditched by coach Eddie Jones in June
2017, when Curry became at 18 the youngest player to start for England in
90 years.
They were brought back a year later for the tour of South Africa. England lost the series but Curry and Wilson impressed with their willingness to put their bodies on the line.
Curry, the specialist openside prized for so long by England, started the first match of November against South Africa but severely injured his ankle and missed the rest of the series. Wilson, a No 8, started the same match only after Billy Vunipola and Sam Simmonds were injured and Nathan Hughes was suspended. He was man of the match against the Springboks, kept plugging, and was voted man of the series.
Up against Ireland for the first time, Curry and Wilson start with the fit-again Billy Vunipola, giving England a trio which has a voracious desire for contact.
“When we’ve come unstuck, it’s been around that area of the breakdown,” England halfback Ben Youngs says. “They’ve just been able to deal with it better, make it slow and frustrating for you. So there’s no surprise we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the breakdown.”
With the ever-reliable Rob Kearney not quite over a thigh injury, Ireland plumped for Robbie Henshaw at fullback. He hasn’t worn the 15 in a test since his debut in 2013.