Curry was sent off in the opening moments of England’s campaign in France, but returned to a starring role before finding himself in the centre of a racism storm involving South Africa’s Bongi Mbonambi before World Rugby dismissed the allegation.

Sanderson provided an update on how Curry reacted to the news, insisting that he is in the best frame of mind possible. “I was more upset than he was,” Sanderson added. “He had reframed himself, was like, ‘Okay, this is fine’… I literally see it as a bump in the road for him. He was extremely positive.

“I’m sure there will be ebbs and flows over the next four or five months and I hope to be part of that journey with him as we get him back to where he needs to be. There was no chink in the invincible armour that is Tom Curry, it was like, ‘Right, let’s get it done. Let’s go’.”