England star branded "a caged animal" after red card in Rugby World Cup opener
Former England scrum half Matt Dawson described Tom Curry as 'like a caged animal' after the flanker's early red card in the Rugby World Cup clash with Argentina.
Less than three minutes were on the clock when Curry was penalised following a head-to-head clash with opponent Juan Cruz Mallia. The 25-year-old was initially shown a yellow card, but it was later upgraded to red to leave England with a man disadvantage.
Curry's red was the first ever received by England at a World Cup and the earliest for any player in any edition of the competition. It came after the introduction of the Foul Play Review Bunker for this year's tournament.
"He is like a caged animal," Dawson said of Curry on BBC Radio 5 Live. "It is a common theme the ill-discipline of England. They get in such a good position and they mean well but the presence of mind and the the split-decision thinking is missing."
Chris Ashton, who played for England at the 2011 World Cup, also had plenty to say about Curry. He recognised the Sale Sharks player was eager to make an impact after a hamstring injury earlier in the year, but didn't excuse the actions.
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"As Tom Curry has been out for so long, he wants to make an impression," Ashton said. "That was what we feared, he is really unlucky there but it is not worth the risk in order to time a perfect hit."
Was the red card the right decision? Have your say in the comments section
Tom Curry eventually received a red card for this challenge (PA)England's frustration grew later in the first half when Santi Carreras' yellow card was not upgraded to red. Despite the early disadvantage, though, some fine kicking from George Ford put Steve Borthwick's team in control against the Pumas.
It was just what England needed after a difficult 2023 to date. They won just two of their five matches at the Six Nations, and were beaten by Fiji in their final game before travelling to France for the World Cup.
England now have a break of more than a week before their next pool game, against Japan. The top two teams in the group, which also includes Chile and Samoa, will go straight through to the knockout stages.
Earlier on Saturday, there were victories for Italy, Ireland and Australia in their respective opening matches. Ireland were the biggest winners, beating Romania 82-8 to record their biggest ever victory in a World Cup game.
The curtain-raiser between hosts France and 2015 champions New Zealand took place on Friday night. The Europeans ran out 27-13 winners at the Stade de France, rallying to win after Mark Talea scored the first try of the tournaments for the All Blacks inside two minutes.
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