Furbank ready for ‘biggest game of our season’

For the first time in a decade, Northampton Saints will contest for the most-coveted prize in English rugby at Twickenham tomorrow afternoon.

The men in Black, Green and Gold face off against Bath Rugby with the Gallagher Premiership title on the line, after a memorable season which has seen them reach the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup, as well as finishing the league campaign on top of the standings.

With one more match to play for Saints, fullback George Furbank – who starts again for Northampton in the No.15 jersey – is determined to make it a day to remember.

“It’s the last dance for this group,” he said. “You win this game and you come away with a trophy – you don’t, and you come runners up – so it is definitely the biggest game of the season.

“Playing Leinster away in the European semi-final was massive, but we have now put ourselves in with a chance to win a trophy, so this is the biggest game we’ve got.

Throughout the league campaign, Saints only lost once at home, and went unbeaten for 12 consecutive games in a purple patch during the middle of the season – and Saints’ fullback puts that down to the belief within the squad.

He said: “When you start to put a run of games together, you realise that when you put your gameplan on the field, you feel like you can beat anyone. When you start doing that against big teams in Europe and other knock out games, you really feel like you’re not going to lose a match. 

“We went through a patch of winning 12 games on the bounce, and every time I stepped on the field, I felt we were always in control and wouldn’t lose the game.

“That belief comes from training, along with having a lot more in our defence, which comes from Lee Radford. He has created a real energy around our defence which we were probably lacking slightly last season.

“[Phil] Dowson does a lot of his leading in meetings and the way that he talks, whereas Vesty does a lot more of the on-field coaching. He is still like a little kid, he wants to be training with us all the time, and you can tell that! I think he is the best coach I have ever had. 

“He is incredible at developing players and he is so desperate for you as an individual to get better, but also the backline a whole to improve, and you can tell that in the way he coaches and drives us throughout the week.”

This Saturday also marks the final game for number of Saints’ departing players, with the likes of Courtney Lawes, Alex Waller and Lewis Ludlam all moving on to pastures new.

“For the last couple of months [the leavers] have been a big motivation for us,” Furbank added. “We bring it up in meetings once a week. It’s an extra driving factor for everyone, but it definitely will be for those guys who are leaving. So, we want to send those boys away with some silverware.”

Furbank was in the stands the last time Saints won the league ten years ago, and the fullback appreciates how special it would be to lift the title with a couple of Saints legends.

He said: “I was there with my sister in 2014, we had a great day out. It is pretty cool now ten years on, playing in a Premiership Final with them!

“It’s not something I have thought about this week, but looking back I will think very fondly of it, and be very grateful to have done everything we have this season with some legends of the game.”