Furbank rues missed opportunities after Twickenham showdown

Northampton Saints fullback George Furbank admitted his side squandered too many opportunities during Saturday’s loss to Harlequins at Twickenham.

The men in Black, Green and Gold succumbed to just their fifth loss of the Gallagher Premiership season last weekend, but did pick up a try-scoring bonus point with Ollie Sleightholme, James Ramm, Tom Lichfield and Courtney Lawes all crossing the whitewash – and Saints remain top of the table with a four-point buffer to Saracens in second.

“We are pretty disappointed,” Furbank said. “It was a game we thought we should have won, but we probably didn’t put our game on the pitch at all in the first half, missed a few opportunities, and they scored a bit too easily for our liking.

“It became a bit scrappy, and we had a few handling errors and a few silly decisions at the breakdown that allowed Quins into our half, and allowed them to do what they do pretty well.

“We can definitely take positives out that game though, we had enough opportunities to win. We weren’t miles off of it, we just didn’t put our game on the park which is the most frustrating thing. So, we will take positives from the game, but overall it was disappointing.

“We have had a few poor starts in games recently. Against Tigers, we didn’t put our game on the park as much as we wanted to, but then came out in the second half of that game and executed really well.

Harlequins spent 30 minutes of the game a man down as Danny Care, Louis Lynagh and Tyrone Green all saw yellow – and Furbank knows Saints did not take full advantage of their numerical advantage. 

He added: “It was disappointing because we felt we had a few scoring opportunities that were denied cynically. But once they are given yellow cards, we didn’t take the advantage of having a man up through different areas of our game.”

Attentions now turn to the Investec Champions Cup, and a trip to Croke Park to face Leinster in Saints’ first semi-final in the competition since 2011.

“We have got a massive week ahead which we are really excited for,” said Furbank. “There will be a real excitement around training throughout the week which we are really looking forward to.

“Dows [Phil Dowson] has spoken about making memories in Europe, and we have done that so far. We’ve been away to Glasgow and won, away at Munster and won, and then beat them in the Round-of-16 at home.

“Croke Park is going to be a hell of an atmosphere, probably one that even international boys haven’t experienced before, so we’re buzzing for that and are determined to get our game on the pitch against Leinster.”