England international flanker Tom Curry has signed a two-year contract extension with Sale Sharks.

The 28-year-old has spent his entire career with the Sharks and made his debut aged 18 in October 2016 and his new deal will keep him with the Prem side until the end of the 2027-28 campaign.

Director of rugby Alex Sanderson said Curry, whose identical twin brother Ben also plays for the club, is “fundamental” to the team.

“The terms are a couple of years and that’s on Tom’s desire to ensure that he’s physically in the best spot to be able to honour his contract, to play a load of games for the next two years,” Sanderson said.

“Then we both said we’ll see where his body’s at, at that point, with the want and desire for him to finish his career at Sale.

“He was the one, after some really honest conversations, that said we need to keep this group together, the core group together.

“He’s fundamental to us, in terms of being the keystone, really, to that whole group.”

Curry added: “Sale Sharks means everything to me and this is the club I have supported my whole life.

“I’m very proud of the hard work we’ve put in over the last 10 years to get the club to where it is now, but I know how much more we have to give and that’s the reason I want to stay. There’s no place I would rather be.”

Curry, who has been capped 71 times by his country, missed the majority of the 2023-24 season after being diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome – a condition that means the ball in the hip joint is not entirely round.

He underwent hip surgery in February 2024 and was warned his career could be over but returned to playing top level rugby just four months later.

In December of that year he had a stem-cell procedure with a view to him being able to play until the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

“He’s surpassing expectations, his own medical expectations and what’s gone before him in terms of the [hip] injury that he had,” Sanderson added.

“We’re not seeing any signs of wear and tear at this point and it might come in to factor later down the line but at this point he’s as fresh and as mobile as he’s ever been.”

Meanwhile, Sharks summer signing Courtney Lawes, who made his Prem debut for the side in the 34-24 home defeat by Bristol at the weekend, said earlier this month that players who choose to go abroad should remain eligible for England selection.

Lawes, has won 105 England caps and returned to England this summer, having spent two years at French side Brive where he was ineligible to represent his country.

At present, the Rugby Football Union does not permit players not playing in this country to be picked for Steve Borthwick’s national side, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Toulouse back row Jack Willis, who has retained his award as the best player in France’s Top 14, has not played for England since 2023 but said this week “it’s something I still want to do”.

However, Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has said he does not think the rules should be changed and Sanderson said altering the approach could lead to the Prem being “devastated”.

“I just think it would devalue our the Prem, which we know is a really good product with really competitive teams, too much if players were allowed to take the pay cheque, move to France and then get the Eurostar over for training with the international team,” he said.

“I think it would devastate the Prem because then players can literally have the cake and eat it, can’t they? They can take the pay cheque and there’ll be no consequence for playing outside of the country.

“I understand the views of those lads who feel otherwise and we have some in our quarters.

“I’m looking at from a different point of view, from a director of rugby that wants the players and we wouldn’t be able to compete to keep them on the books if we had to go against some of the juggernauts of the Top 14.”