Tom Curry insists that England players must take responsibility for their late-game collapses and avoid making excuses as Steve Borthwick’s team aims to bounce back against Australia. England has lost their last three Tests against New Zealand, all after leading in the game, and their Six Nations finale against France followed a similar pattern. Consequently, England enters Saturday’s match against the Wallabies with only four wins from their nine Tests in 2024.
Last Saturday, England led by eight points in the final quarter but failed to capitalize, a decision that came back to haunt them. Borthwick has faced criticism for his substitution timing, particularly removing Marcus Smith and Ben Spencer when England was in control. However, Curry emphasizes that the players must own the outcomes.
“As players, we need to step up,” Curry said. “We made mistakes and acknowledged them. It’s frustrating, but we must improve. I can only speak about the matches I participated in, especially the summer tour of New Zealand. In the last quarter, we players must take charge. It’s about maintaining performance for the full 80 minutes. We did things in the last quarter that we didn’t do in the first 60.
If we consistently solved these issues, sports would be straightforward, wouldn’t it? That’s the challenge; we must find solutions. There’s nothing new from the coaches; we’ve received all the right messages. We players need to step up. There are no excuses.
The review with Steve was concise, highlighting key points for this week. It’s a good way to understand what went wrong and then refocus for the match against Australia.” Against New Zealand, England conceded only one penalty in the first half and two by the 60-minute mark. However, they gave away five more by full-time, highlighting the need for improved discipline.
“Steve recognizes the importance of discipline in winning games and the number of penalties we need to limit,” Curry added. “We’re aware of this. The coaches emphasize it in training, which is beneficial. But there are moments with different reasons, and we must ensure those reasons don’t affect us.
We understand the trends, referees, and the evolving game. We must focus on discipline for the entire 80 minutes, especially the last 20 when tired and with different combinations. Every section is equally important.”
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