We haven’t given up on our dream of a European return: Curry
SALE youngster Ben Curry says the Sharks won’t lack motivation going into the final five games of the Aviva Premiership.
A heavy bonus point defeat at home to Northampton Saints saw Sale’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions Cup again this season effectively come to an end.
They are now 15 points adrift of the sixth-placed Saints and are yet to make trips to Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs.
But Curry believes their Champions Cup hopes aren’t over just yet – and insists they will have plenty to play for when they travel to Exeter in their next game at the end of the month.
He said: “It’s massively disappointing [the defeat to Northampton]. We were on a big winning run.
“We went into the game with momentum, we’ve now got a week off so the lads will reflect on what we’ve achieved over the last couple of weeks.
“We can come back in a week’s time and review what we’ve just done and we’ll build.
“I’m sure in two weeks there’ll be a lot more of a positive mentality. We’ll push when it comes to Exeter.
“I don’t think we need motivation.
“Everyone knows what’s at stake.
“Everyone really wants to push for Europe.
“We haven’t needed much motivation it’s just been about that last five minutes or that last pass. It’s just the skill or the errors that’s cost us massively, but the work rate has been there. You can never doubt that.”
The 18-year-old, alongside his identical twin brother Tom, signed a new five-year deal to stay at Sale last week, following up on the news of Scotland international Josh Strauss signing for the Sharks for next season. Both Ben and Tom have surprised many this year, with both featuring prominently and earning international Ben Curry honours in the ongoing England Under-20s Six Nations campaign.
And the Sale back row admits his and his brother’s achievements have surpassed both of their expectations, saying it is a ‘massive relief’ to be signed to the Sharks for the long-term future.
He said: “It’s a massive relief. I’m very happy. It’s a great club to be at. The mentality is very positive at the club at the moment. It’s a club I’ve grown up watching and played for since I was 15, so I’m very happy.
“It’s been a massive year for me. My aims for the year were to try and play some A-league and, hopefully, play some LV [AngloWelsh Cup]. I wasn’t even thinking about England 20s. It’s been one of the best years of my rugby career so far and I hope this continues. I’ll just keeping working hard.”