Curry has a Shark focus on silverware
TOM Curry says he has already put the heartache of England’s World Cup final defeat behind him and is now relishing the chance to win trophies with Sale this season.
The Sharks flanker admits he felt ‘devastated’ after the 32-12 loss to South Africa in Japan, but says he has already drawn a line under it and is now totally focused on getting back to club rugby.
Curry - along with World Cup final opponent Faf de Klerk – made his Sale return against La Rochelle last month and will be back in action at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday when Sale host Exeter in the Heineken Cup.
“Being in the England squad was an unbelievable experience and to play every minute is something I’m really proud of. But obviously to go so far and not end up winning was disappointing,” he said.
“Coming back home from Japan has been good though and playing against La Rochelle gave me the perfect way to start moving on from that game. I’m now totally focused on doing my best for the club and I’m excited to see where we can go this year.”
Curry’s England team-mate Mark Wilson, who joined Sale on a season-long loan from Newcastle Falcons in the summer, started the final on the bench.
“There was a real togetherness in the England squad and the coaching staff did a great job of making sure everyone was involved,” he said. “The New Zealand game was definitely a highlight for us but it’s just a shame we couldn’t quite carry that into the final – we didn’t show what we can really do.”
Sitting alongside the England duo at a special Sale Sharks Business Club event at the Bentley Manchester dealership in Knutsford, De Klerk says South Africa’s victory in Japan will have a positive impact on his country. “The atmosphere during the games in Japan was amazing and I couldn’t believe how brilliant the fans were out there. It was incredible,” said the scrum-half.
“When we took the World Cup trophy back home, we went on tour to celebrate with everyone in South Africa and I hope we have helped to inspire young people for the future. We wanted to give them hope and the confidence to achieve even more than we have. I think sport definitely has the power to do that.”
As part of the event, Sale Sharks unveiled a new commercial sponsor in specialist services provider Kingdom Services Group, which also sponsored the event. Mark Cueto, now the club’s commercial director, explained how the club’s work on the pitch was being reflected off it.
He said: “We’re really pleased that so
Tom Curry many people joined us for our Business Club event.
“The lads were fantastic in sharing some interesting and amusing stories from their time in Japan but now that’s it’s all over, it’s great to have them back home at Sale and playing for the club again.
“Having four World Cup finalists in our squad when you include Lood de Jager just highlights what a great job Dimes (Steve Diamond) and the team have been doing with recruitment, with our owners Simon Orange and Ged Mason backing him all the way.
“Our commercial supporters are integral to everything we’re building at Sale Sharks so we’re always really grateful for their support. We’re very pleased to welcome Kingdom Group Services Group into the fold and want to thank Bentley Manchester for hosting us again this year.
“We organise these types of events to make sure all of our partners can enjoy being part of the Sharks family and we’re looking forward to plenty more as part of our Business Club throughout the season.”