It is a very special day for brothers in rugby, as today marks the 25th birthdays of England’s favourite set of twins. Tom and Ben Curry both hit the quarter-century milestone today, and the Sale Sharks duo got us thinking about all the other great rugby brothers throughout the sport’s history.
Here are the top six sets of rugby brothers
1 – Tom and Ben Curry
Where else to start but with the birthday boys. Tom and Ben Curry have been playing together at Sale Sharks since breaking into the academy set up in 2016, prior to that the twin brothers represented Crew & Nantwich RUFC on opposite flanks. The two back-rowers occupy the six and seven shirts at the AJ Bell Stadium, and are well matched in their ruthlessness in the tackle and breakdown prowess.
Both Curry brothers have gone on to star for England, with Tom making his international debut before his twin. Tom Curry was called up into the England squad during the Eddie Jones era, making his full test debut against Argentina in 2017. This match saw Tom Curry achieve the accolade of being the youngest player to start at flanker for England, at the age of 21.
Ben Curry was also called up onto the 2017 Summer tour of Argentina, yet he was unable to get onto the pitch. Eddie Jones gave Ben his test match debut in the Summer of 2021, with the back-rower coming off the bench in a friendly against the United States. Tom Curry has gone on to captain England on a handful of occasions, with Jones picking the Sale man to lead in the absence of Courtney Lawes last Autumn.
Tom Curry has also achieved British & Irish Lion status, on the 2021 Tour to South Africa. Tom started all three tests against the Springboks, with South Africa winning the series 2-1 overall. Both Curry brothers were integral parts of the Sale Sharks team who reached the first Premiership final since 2006, however Ben suffered an untimely hamstring injury in the semi-final, which wrote the Sharks captain out of the showpiece match at Twickenham, and will likely side-line him for the upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup.