Sale player ratings: Ben Curry enjoys ‘fantastic battle’ with Jack Willis but injury concern over twin brother Tom
Ben Curry and Tom Curry in action for Sale Sharks.
Following a 38-15 defeat to Toulouse in the Investec Champions Cup last-16 clash at Stadium de Toulouse on Sunday, here are the player ratings for Sale Sharks.
15 Luke James: Took his try really well and was solid in the air but Sale could just not get their hands on the ball in the second period, which stifled his impact. 6
14 Tom Roebuck: Pressurised the Toulouse back three aerially but you would have almost expected him to finish off that try at the end of the first half. Was perhaps unfortunate but grazing the sideline proved crucial. 6
Playmaking axis
13 Rob du Preez (c): Alongside George Ford, the two Sale playmakers dovetailed superbly in the first half, but his influence waned after the break and errors crept in. 7
12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White: A big game for the talented youngster, who has not played too many professional matches, but he had his moments. Ma’asi-White’s physicality was excellent, he was solid defensively and he added some nice touches with ball in hand. 7
11 Arron Reed: A mixed game from the wing, who worked so hard and had some decent moments in attack, but there were a few execution errors, especially defensively. 6
10 George Ford: The experienced England fly-half didn’t have the greatest kicking game, both out of hand or off the tee, but his decision-making was generally good and got Sale on the front foot. Struggled in the second period, however. 6
9 Gus Warr: It’s not been the greatest season for the scrum-half but he was very good on Sunday. His kicking was excellent and service much sharper. 7
8 Jean-Luc du Preez: A big man who made some big impacts but the Sharks would have liked to have seen him make more of an impression in the closer exchanges. 6
Double trouble
7 Ben Curry (c): Absolutely magnificent throughout. Curry was an absolute menace to the hosts at the contact area while he also showed plenty of power in the carry. It was a fantastic battle with Jack Willis. 9
6 Tom Curry: Hopefully his injury is not too serious but, when he was on the field, he combined brilliantly with his twin. 7
5 Jonny Hill: Considering the opposition, it may well be Hill’s best performance for some time. The lock did his job physically and in the set-piece, putting himself about. 7
4 Ernst van Rhyn: A tireless effort as usual from the versatile forward, but he couldn’t quite maintain his high standards of the first half throughout his time on the field. 6
3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour: Showed some of what he could do, particularly at the set-piece, but that Sharks scrum was not quite rewarded as it should have been by the officials. 6
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie: Another Sale player who was absolutely everywhere. Some excellent work defensively when their line had been breached as he worked hard for over 70 minutes. 7
1 Si McIntyre: Easily had the edge over Dorian Aldegheri but it took a while to convince the officials. Even so, a really good performance from the loosehead. 7
Replacements: Where it all fell down for the visitors, like it did for Saracens in Toulon. Sam Dugdale was good but the loss of Bevan Rodd in midweek really harmed their prop depth while injuries to other key players meant they couldn’t have the same impact as Toulouse. 4
👀 READ MORE: Investec Champions Cup 2024-25: Quarter-final ties, times and dates revealed
