Portugal Colonial - Curry poised for England return at World Cup

The 25-year-old has not played since his club Sale Sharks lost the Premiership final to Saracens in May and he missed England's disjointed August build-up to the tournament, where they lost to Fiji for the first time ever.

But backs coach Kevin Sinfield said Curry's return would be a big boost for the faltering giants after the forward came through training unscathed.

"It's great to see him out there, he's been really good," said Sinfield on Tuesday.

"I mentioned back rows before and how important they are to our defence: he's been excellent."

Asked whether Curry was fit and ready to play against the Pumas in Marseille, Sinfield was adamant.

"We've no doubt about that. He's got a number of caps under his belt now and has been doing it for years.

"He can play a number of positions for us across the back row. We're delighted he's available."

Curry could be asked to fill in for suspended No.8 Billy Vunipola.

England's defence has come under particular criticism during their four tournament warm-up matches that saw them ship 12 tries and included defeats to Wales and Ireland.

"It really helps us having Tom Curry back available. Some of the suspensions we've had to contend with the last couple of weeks haven't helped," said Sinfield.

"Some of the back row changes we have had to make probably haven't helped but I do see a team here that are improving."

Curry has been an important player for England since making his debut in 2017.

He started for England in the 2019 World Cup final at blindside flanker and also started all three British and Irish Lions Tests against South Africa in 2021 at openside.

G.Machado--PC