England must provide its version of events over the tunnel confrontation between Tom Curry and Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi before Six Nations decides whether to open an investigation.
Contepomi labelled Curry a “bully” and said he was “smacked” by the England flanker in the tunnel after England’s 27-23 win. Argentina lodged an official complaint after Contepomi said he had been shoved and told to “f*** off” by Curry.
Six Nations, which manages the autumn internationals and related disciplinary processes, has requested England’s account. It is understood all information is expected to be collated by Tuesday morning, when the governing body will decide if there are grounds for an inquiry on the basis the game was brought into disrepute.
The flashpoint began with Curry’s late tackle on Juan Cruz Mallia in the 75th minute, which forced the full-back off and has been confirmed by Argentina as an ACL knee injury. Curry’s challenge drew a penalty but was not referred to the television match official; he has avoided a citing as the incident did not meet the red-card threshold. With Mallia off, the Pumas had to try to close out a tight finish with 14 men.
Contepomi left the coach’s box to protest the tackle and a brawl broke out at the final whistle before the confrontation in the tunnel. “Curry, let me say, it is probably part of his nature to bully people. He came into the tunnel and he gave me a little smack. He is 27, strong. I am 48,” Contepomi said. “I was standing there. He was coming to say ‘hi’ to one of our coaches but we were upset because he was reckless and broke our player’s knee. When he came I said ‘mate, you broke his knee’, he said ‘f**k off’ and pushed me. Maybe that’s the way he is. I don’t know him. I’m not happy with the situation.”
Contepomi added that the tunnel incident was caught on camera and said England team manager Richard Hill was present. The RFU is understood to be willing to provide footage if required.
England head coach Steve Borthwick and centre Henry Slade rejected Contepomi’s description of Curry as a “bully”, with Borthwick saying he was not aware of what happened in the tunnel. “I don’t comment on refereeing decisions within the game and in this immediacy post it,” Borthwick said. “As for the incident in the tunnel, clearly I’m aware there was an incident, I didn’t see it, I wasn’t there, I was in the changing room at the time. I’m aware of it. I wouldn’t want that in any instance to be the centre of attention of what was a tough, hard Test match where two teams really went at it for the afternoon and that’s all I’ve got to say really about it.
“I think anyone in this room who has had any contact with Tom Curry knows his character of a man. His character is impeccable, he’s a fantastic team man, a very respectful guy. I think Tom Curry’s character is unquestionable.”
England captain Maro Itoje said he was unaware of the tunnel incident but noted post-match emotions run high. “Post-game on the pitch emotions are always flying high. You see that in almost every game, whether it’s Test match or club game or even national one. That’s part and parcel of rugby I guess. Two sides which have a huge amount of respect for one another. We’ve played them three times this year and we know a number of their players from the Premiership and beyond. I think all in all, a tough, tough old Test match.”