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Kevin Sinfield insists England do not have a discipline problem as they look to draw a line under their latest red-card setback that resulted in a two-match ban for Tom Curry.<\/p>\n
England did not contest Curry\u2019s dismissal for a dangerous tackle in Saturday\u2019s 14-man demolition of Argentina when the Sale openside appeared before a brief virtual hearing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
After the disruption caused to their World Cup preparations by the Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola incidents last month, England are keen to focus all their attention on Sunday\u2019s Pool D showdown with Japan.<\/p>\n
And while continuing to hone their tackle technique in training, defence coach Sinfield is satisfied there is no deep-rooted problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiscipline-wise, we gave away seven penalties at the weekend,\u201d Sinfield said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve got a discipline problem, I thought it was really unfortunate what happened at the weekend. It\u2019s been different from the other challenges that have taken place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to work on our tackle skill \u2013 and work incredibly hard. The guys have bought into it and have done so for some time, but they\u2019re human and they make mistakes. We\u2019ve got to understand that.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd unfortunately we\u2019ve had to deal with four red cards in six games. We\u2019re getting pretty good at defending with 14 men, but we want to have our full complement on the field for as long as possible at all times.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we hope to improve that area, but it\u2019s tricky to pinpoint exactly what that is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll spend time with Tom and put him through tackle school and work incredibly hard with him again. We\u2019ll get him right for a couple of weeks\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Observers have been left scratching their heads by the inconsistent refereeing evident during the opening round of World Cup matches.<\/p>\n
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While Curry was given his marching orders for his third-minute clash of heads with Juan Cruz Mallia, similar incidents involving players from South Africa and Chile went unpunished.<\/p>\n
On this occasion England could be justified for nursing a sense of grievance at the way the cards have fallen against them and Sinfield admits the disparity between decisions makes a player\u2019s job harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it makes life really difficult for the players, first and foremost, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re all here for,\u201d Sinfield said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all want to see the players out on the field, we want to see the best players in the world go head to head. We\u2019ve just got to be careful.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe control what we can control. We\u2019re in full support of the rules and regulations. We try and train as hard as we can, but within the laws of the game and we\u2019ll continued to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
England name their team to face Japan on Friday night and Sinfield insists there will be no room for sentimentality when making any tight calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the top of the list is to win the game to we pick the team that we think gives us the best chance of winning,\u201d Sinfield said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWithin that there\u2019s always a balance, but we\u2019re in a World Cup and we\u2019re not here to give people game-time, we\u2019re here to win games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not here to give Test shirts out because someone deserves one, we\u2019re here because we have to win games.\u201d<\/p>\n