Tom Curry was accused of being a ‘bully’ and telling Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi to ‘f*** off’ as England’s autumn campaign ended in controversy.
Steve Borthwick’s side beat the Pumas 27-23 to extend their winning run to 11 matches and seal their first November clean sweep since 2017. But post-match, both sides were embroiled in a Twickenham tunnel brawl.
The Pumas were furious with England flanker Curry for what they saw as a ‘reckless’ late tackle on Juan Cruz Mallia.
Contepomi said Mallia had suffered a suspected serious knee injury. ‘It is probably part of his nature to bully people,’ Contepomi said of Curry. ‘He came down the tunnel and gave me a push on the chest.
‘He said “F*** off” and pushed me. I’m not happy with the situation. After breaking someone’s knee, you need to be humble enough to say sorry, you did something wrong.
‘But he went the opposite way.’
Mallia was forced off injured due to Curry’s hit, leaving the Pumas to play the final four minutes with 14 men. Despite that, Argentina came close to a famous comeback only to fall short at the death as England held on.
Centre Max Ojomoh was England’s star man. Their head coach Borthwick defended Curry’s character, but the Sale back-row could yet face a ban for his part in the post-match scuffle. ‘He (Curry) went to say hi to one of our coaches,’ Contepomi said.
‘I was like: “No.” We were upset. He was reckless and he broke our player.’
‘Clearly I’m aware there was an incident,’ said Borthwick. ‘I didn’t see it. I was in the changing room at the time.
‘Anybody in this room who has had any contact with Tom Curry knows that as a character of a man. His character is impeccable.’
