Sale Sharks star Tom Curry briefly made himself the most popular man inside Twickenham after escorting a protester off the pitch during Saturday's Premiership final with Saracens.
There was a brief stoppage in play 20 minutes into what is the biggest fixture in the English club rugby calender, as protestors from the notorious 'Just Stop Oil' group invaded the pitch and threw orange powder onto the field.
Play was halted for 10 minutes as protestors were wrestled to the ground and taken off the pitch, with Curry helping to carry one of them off the field, much to the delight of the Twickenham crowd, whose boos of annoyance at the stoppage gave way to cheers.
Mauro Itoje could also be seen pushing one protester off the pitch, while Jono Ross was also seemingly held back from physically engaging with another.
Sale Sharks‘ official Twitter account tweeted: “The Game has come to a stop due to protesters on the pitch. Fools.” replying, “Escorted off by a Mr Tom Curry.”
Meanwhile, Saracens tweeted: “A stop in play here as some protesters run onto the field. Players from both teams help security to remove them. Time-off here with a lot of mess to clean up on the pitch.
The protestors were seen being showered with beer and other projectiles as they were escorted off the pitch.
This is the latest high-profile stunt from 'Just Stop Oil', who have been responsible for similar protests at recent Premier League matches and even the recent World Snooker Championship
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