England defence coach Anthony Seibold is confident Tom Curry would flourish in rugby league after he was asked which player he would take to Manly Sea Eagles.
Seibold will leave his current role under Eddie Jones following this year’s Autumn Nations Series, as he takes up a post as head coach of the NRL outfit in Australia.
He’ll be replaced by a fellow Australian, ex-Huddersfield and Warrington player Brett Hodgson, as the Red Rose appoint another new coach during Jones’ tenure.
Rugby league backing for Tom Curry
Speaking to the media ahead of the team’s fixture with New Zealand this Saturday, Seibold was asked which England player would have the biggest impact in league.
“It’s hard to pick! I’ve always said Tom Curry would be an outstanding rugby league player. I think he’s one of the world’s best rugby players in either code, full-stop,” Seibold said.
“I have great admiration for his toughness, work ethic and skill level. He’s an outstanding player and I’m looking forward to Tom showing that against the All Blacks on Saturday.”
As mentioned, this will be Seibold’s penultimate game as he takes up the head coach post at Manly earlier than originally expected, due to Des Hasler’s sacking.
But he said it was an opportunity he could not turn down as the position gave him the chance to reunite with his family in Australia, as he leaves on good terms.
“It was a really difficult call. I’ve invested a lot of time in this group over the last 18 months and wanted to see it out until the World Cup,” Seibold explained.
“Initially, I had agreed to join Manly in 2024 but that was brought forward by 12 months due to the situation in the club.
He leaves earlier than expected
“Sometimes in life you have to make decisions that are really difficult and this is one that I ultimately wanted to make, albeit with a lot of regret about missing the next 11 months through to the World Cup.
“It’s been a wonderful experience working for Eddie, he is an elite coach. He’s a master coach.
“Eddie was super supportive when I told him. I first met Eddie in 2016 and we have formed a really good relationship.
“One of the attributes of Eddie – and it’s probably in some ways misunderstood – is that he wants assistant coaches to go on and be head coaches. Look at Steve Borthwick and what he’s been able to do.
“I’ll continue to use Eddie as a mentor and share learnings with him because he’s someone I’ve got the utmost respect for.”
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