Tom Curry signs two-year Sale Sharks extension through 2027-28

Tom Curry has signed a two-year contract extension with Sale Sharks, keeping the England flanker at the club through the end of the 2027-28 campaign, BBC Sport reported on 30 September. The deal extends his stay at the club where he began his professional career, although it does not settle how long he will play beyond those two seasons.

Curry, 28, told BBC Sport that Sale means everything to him and that he has supported the club all his life. He said he was proud of what the team had done over the past decade but believed it had more to give: ‘There’s no place I would rather be.’

Why Curry and Sale agreed a two-year deal

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson called Curry ‘fundamental’ to the team and a ‘keystone’ of its core group. According to Sanderson, Curry had urged the club to keep that group together. The comments explain the club’s interest in retaining him, as well as Curry’s stated wish to remain part of the side.

Sanderson told BBC Sport the length of the agreement reflected Curry’s wish to be physically able to honour it and play a substantial number of games over the next two years. He said the two sides would then assess how Curry’s body was doing, with a shared wish for him to finish his career at Sale. That longer-term possibility is separate from the two-year extension now reported.

Where Curry fits in Sale’s back row

A Sale Sharks interview published on 25 September showed Curry was still competing for his place in Sanderson’s starting side. He said he expected strong competition in the back row after the club brought in new players, but welcomed the effect of the arrivals on training and on the choices available to the coaches.

Sale said it had recruited 12 players for the new campaign. Its back-row additions included Courtney Lawes, Elia Canakaivata and Christ Tshiunza, joining a group that already featured Curry, Ben Curry, Sam Dugdale and Jacques Vermeulen. Curry said the different qualities of those players would give the side options as the season developed.

Curry has played across all three back-row positions for club and country, Sale reported. In the September interview, he described how each asks something different of him: playing at seven brings him closer to the ball, six gives him more set-piece work, and number eight combines aspects of both. He said he enjoys doing a bit of everything at number eight.

His immediate aim, he told Sale, was to bring his defensive work to the team while increasing his involvement with the ball and in attack. That account places the new contract alongside a practical question for this season: how Curry earns a starting place in a back row with more choices, rather than assuming the extension guarantees one.

Injury history and the limits of the deal

Curry’s fitness has been a significant part of his recent career. BBC Sport reported that a hip condition caused him to miss most of the 2023-24 season and that he underwent surgery in February 2024. He returned to top-level rugby about four months later, after having been warned his career might be over.

The British & Irish Lions’ profile of Curry says he went on to start every match of England’s 2025 Six Nations campaign and all three Lions Tests against Australia later that year. Those appearances show the level at which he returned to play; they cannot establish his future availability under the new Sale contract.

Curry told Sale in September that he had missed much of the previous preseason after the Lions tour and wrist surgery. He said he had only two weeks off before returning to training, and felt his body was in a better place going into this campaign. Those are Curry’s own observations about his preparation, rather than a forecast of his fitness over the next two seasons.

Sanderson told BBC Sport that Curry was exceeding expectations after his hip injury and that he saw no signs of wear and tear at the time, while acknowledging it could become a factor later. The two-year term commits Curry and Sale through 2027-28; Sanderson’s account leaves any decision about playing beyond it for a later assessment.