POTM Ben Curry peeved at post-match question

Moments after the final whistle had blown on one of Sale Sharks’ best-ever away wins in the Gallagher Premiership, Ben Curry called for the narrative to be changed around the health of his brother Tom.

The Curry twins started together in the back row as Sale beat Bristol 38-0 at Ashton Gate to register their first league points on the road in emphatic style.

Ben was outstanding on both sides of the ball, making a match-high 18 tackles and scoring a try, in a commanding 80-minute performance which earned him the Player of the Match award.

Tom, meanwhile, had an effective evening at blindside, being replaced twice in the match, for blood in the first half and permanently for Sam Dugdale approaching the hour mark when the game was well and truly won.

For the more high-profile of the two brothers, it was another game under his belt after undergoing career-saving surgery on a chronic hip problem last February.

To manage his recovery and prevent further issues from occurring, the 26-year-old is currently undergoing stem cell therapy, whilst Sale are carefully managing his workload.

After three questions about Sale’s epic performance in a live post-match interview, Ben Curry was asked: “What did it mean to you to be out there alongside your brother yet again and what does it say about Alex Sanderson and about this club about its values that his longevity and his health are being prioritised in the way that it is?

It was a seemingly legitimate question given Tom Curry’s medical history but Ben took umbrage and the question and his response were cut from the interview published later that evening on TNT’s digital platforms.

💪 Ben Curry reflects on his side’s incredible defensive effort after a strong first away win of the season!#BRIvSAL | #GallagherPrem | @SaleSharksRugby pic.twitter.com/dGIw4aLBkB

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) December 27, 2024

Understandably it is a sensitive issue for Ben, and this is his response in full: “Can people stop talking about his longevity, he’s 26. Every time I see about his longevity he seems fine. You saw that tonight, he was banging people. I really want people to stop talking about that because he is in unbelievable condition, he is one of the best players in the world when he is on it. He is going to be playing for a long time so I’d like people to stop doing that, please.”

Most of the post-match chat, however, centred on Sale’s magnificent defensive display, as free-scoring Bristol were kept pointless for the first time in the Premiership since September 2016.

It was a personal triumph for recently appointed defence coach Byron McGuigan, who replaced Leeds Rhinos-bound Jamie Langley in the middle of last month.

Curry said: “Byron works incredibly hard. In terms of the system, it is very detailed but I think you’ve seen tonight, the lads want to put their heads in dark places for him. I want to hit for Byron, lads want to hit for Byron, and that’s 99% of defence. So when you have a defence coach that you want to put your head in dark places for I think you get performances like that.”