GOING from ACL surgery to the World Cup Final will always be one of the highlights of Ben Currie’s career.
The one-club Warrington Wolves stalwart will have his testimonial match this Saturday when Leigh Leopards visit the Halliwell Jones Stadium for a pre-season game.
Currie is entering his twelfth season at the club, in which time he has made over 200 appearances and won the League Leaders’ Shield, in 2016, and the 2019 Challenge Cup.
He also became an England international in 2017, playing every game in their run to the final – a feat made more impressive considering he was beginning rehabilitation from an ACL knee injury twelve months earlier.
Currie reflected: “One of my biggest highlights is coming back from an ACL injury. We played Wigan away, I was on the bench, I was only supposed to play 20 minutes and I came on just before half-time.
“Halfway through the second half the water carrier came on and said ‘do you mind playing the full game’. So I stayed out and it’s a good job I did, because I scored the winning try.
“I only played two or three games but (then England coach) Wayne Bennett said ‘if you’re fit, you’re coming’.
“It turned out to be my debut as I missed a few the year before through injury. He said if I got back fit, he’d take me, so that was a good confidence boost for me.
“I worked hard to get back and managed to play all six games and get in the World Cup Final team.
“There’s no higher Rugby League game to play in. It would have been nice to win, to be so close at 6-0 was heartbreaking but also a real achievement.”
At 28, Currie is among the younger testimonial men, despite having to wait a year because Stefan Ratchford, who joined Warrington the same time Currie made his first-team debut in 2012, is older and so was given the nod for his testimonial first.
The backrower still has time on his side in his career: “It’s only another nine years to try and get another testimonial; Benny Westwood played until he was 37, so I don’t see why not!”
But his immediate ambitions stretch no further than ensuring he can stay at the Wolves into a 13th season and beyond.
“I just want to focus game-by-game, get myself fit and playing well again,” said Currie.
“This is the last year of my contract so I need to make sure I’m playing well to secure my future. I want to perform and give them no choice but to keep me.”
Currie’s testimonial game sees him quickly reunited with the six players who have swapped Warrington for Leigh in the past year – Josh Charnley, Jack Hughes, Oliver Holmes, Robbie Mulhern, Matt Davis and Jacob Gannon.
“I always had Leigh in mind anyway because it’s round the corner from where I live,” Currie explained.
“I always keep an eye on Leigh and want them to do well. I was over the moon when they got promoted to Super League.
“It was always going to be a no-brainer (for my testimonial) as long as they wanted to play and thankfully they did.
“Now there are six ex-Wire players in the team so it’s going to be interesting.”
Warrington will wear a special black strip for the game, along with odd socks in support of the Down’s Syndrome Association, one of Currie’s four chosen charities alongside the Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, and Alder Hey Children’s Charity.