Brawl erupts after Ellis Genge’s extremely dubious tackle on England teammate
The Curry brothers were on fire on Friday night as Sale Sharks swept past Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate 36-20, proving to be a nuisance all night.
One player they certainly irked was England teammate Ellis Genge, and it all boiled over in the second half.
This all came about after Genge tackled Tom Curry. Ben Curry joined the ruck to clear Genge out, and overstayed his welcome slightly by holding onto the loosehead on the ground even after the ball had moved on. Bristol’s Fitz Harding came in to drag Ben away, but Genge was already incensed. The prop stood up and immediately dived on Tom, sparking a melee between both packs.
It was a modern day rugby brawl, which meant absolutely nothing happened, but it did cause referee Luke Pearce to ask his TMO if anything happened. It was only then that the video footage showed that Genge made direct contact with the head of Tom in the tackle. The commentary team deemed the tackle a straight red, but Pearce adjudged it to be only a yellow card offence he did not see it as “highly dangerous,” which might prove to be controversial in the coming week.
The funny thing is that Genge probably would have got away with the tackle had he not reacted to Ben holding him down. But being England teammates with the Bristol star, the Curry brothers probably know how to push his buttons, and it worked on this occasion.
Bristol were already losing 29-13 at the point, and ended up losing 36-20, which moved the Sharks one step closer to a home semi-final in the Gallagher Premiership with fixtures against Gloucester and Newcastle Falcons to come.
Take a look at the brawl:
Ellis Genge vs the Curry brothers
by u/Fit-Zookeepergame575 in rugbyunion
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said after the match: “Whenever we play Sale it comes down to the physical battle, and 100 per cent they won that tonight.
“We made it difficult for ourselves. We gave 12 points away before they even got in our 22. All in all, it was disappointing.
“When you have got a kicker like George Ford, and in those (wet) conditions, three points are like five points.
“For us now, it is about making sure we secure Champions Cup (qualification) for next season.”
