Furbank more than capable of filling fly-half void at Test level, says Cockerill
George Furbank would be “more than capable” of playing at fly-half at Test level, says England forwards coach Richard Cockerill, who backed the Northampton man to fill a potential void left by Owen Farrell.
The England captain, who has 93 caps for his country, yesterday tested positive for coronavirus and is awaiting the result of a second test ahead of the match against Tonga. His absence, which would be confirmed by a positive result in his second PCR test, would leave Eddie Jones with a major vacancy at No10.
Marcus Smith, who has barely trained this week due to a lower leg injury, is the only other recognised fly-half in the squad. The uncertainty over Farrell and the unavailability of Smith brings into sharp focus Jones’s decision to omit George Ford from his squad.
The 28-year-old, with 76 Test caps, has been in top form in the Premiership with Leicester top of the table thanks to his leadership, and he played against Bath last night. However, in Furbank, Cockerill is certain that the spot would be in safe hands. “He’s played there before for his club,” Cockerill said. “He’s a very talented player, who has great instincts, and I think he’ll take it in his stride. We’ve got no concerns with our options in that position. Whoever starts and finishes there is more than capable of doing what we need them to do.”
This would not be the first time the 25-year-old has stepped into the breach for England; his first Test cap was at full-back against France in the opening game of the 2020 Six Nations, which ended in defeat.
The player, who has often started at 10 for Saints, made two more appearances during the 2020 Six Nations – one in November 2021 against Italy after the Covid-enforced hiatus – but was dropped for the Autumn Nations Cup win and 2021 Six Nations as his club form dipped. He received a recall for the summer Tests against the United States and Canada, where he made one appearance off the bench at fly-half.
Furbank has had to show mental resilience, considering the rollercoaster nature of the beginning of his international career, and credits working with England psychologist Andrea Furst, who Jones is believed to be a big fan of, in rediscovering his form and confidence.
“She helped with the ability to be able to move on from mistakes and
errors,” said Furbank in an interview with The Daily Telegraph last month. “I spoke a little bit to Boydy [Saints director of rugby, Chris Boyd] about how I was struggling to move on from making mistakes, too, but the work I was doing with Andrea and the time off gave me the ability to approach it with a new mindset. But I was doing the work with Andrea at the time, and I wanted to carry on with that.”
The uncertainty on the eve of England’s opening game, a match that marks the first of Jones’s final phase as head coach, is likely to have caused major disruption to his bestlaid plans. It now provides an unexpected test run for Jones’s new senior leadership group of players, and Cockerill is keen to see the positives at receiving a late curveball – with the team’s captain and figurehead isolating in a hotel room.
“We’ve got a good leadership group and a good group of players,” Cockerill added. “Things get thrown at you, and you have to deal with the adversity. We have to take the next step forwards. We’ve done that.
“I’m not sure I want to particularly discuss who is playing where and why in the captain’s run. That’s not for me to give away. We’re wellprepared and have contingencies.
“We have a resilient group and this is a good test for this group to make sure that whatever happens, we perform and do exactly what we want to do.”