Take care of Tom, England are urged

ALEX Sanderson believes England will need to manage Tom Curry’s minutes if the flanker is to reach 100 caps.

- By PAUL REES

Curry, who has made 62 appearances for England and started all five of this year’s Six Nations matches, missed most of last season with a hip injury that threatened to end his career. He completed the games against Ireland, France and Wales this year and was replaced in the second half against Scotland and Italy.

“He was looked after by England,” said Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby. “He is their player when on international duty and they rightly have the rights on how many minutes he plays.

“If I was looking to his longer term planning in getting to 100 caps, I would manage those minutes in the Six Nations but he came back to us saying he felt good and he trained well with us. He is on fire and has no issues with his hips.”

Curry started the matches in the opening and closing rounds alongside his twin brother Ben who made a significant impact off the bench in the other three rounds to make him a firm contender for the Lions in Australia this summer