Furbank: We were spoonfed too much
GEORGE Furbank feels Northampton’s rise this season is down to a pre-season meeting when the players resolved to take more responsibility.
The Saints head the Premiership table and are in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup with Leinster standing in the way of a first final in 13 years.
“There was a big onus at the start of the season on becoming a bit more player led,” said Furbank, who took hold of the England full-back jersey from Freddie Steward in the last three rounds of the Six Nations.
“We were probably spoonfed a little too much and on game day we used to rely on coaches, but they are not on the pitch. We put more onus on ourselves and we have become more pragmatic as a backline in our game understanding and management and we are in a better space for it.
“We felt that in tight matches or games where we made slow starts and finished up on the wrong side that there was a reason for that. We wanted to take more responsibility in terms of watching training and giving more feedback to the coaches about what we wanted out of it as a group.
“We had little chats as players about where we could improve and little nuances we thought could change. It has allowed us to manage games and be more pragmatic. Fin Smith is pretty good at it and I have taken a bit on myself.”
Furbank finished the Six Nations with a calf injury sustained during the clash with France in Lyon and only returned to action as a replacement against the Bulls last weekend.
“It was frustrating because I wanted to hit the running with Saints and was unable to do that,” he said. “I had a small tear in the lower part of the calf and lost all power and strength, but I am now fully fit and firing and I am looking to force my way into a back three in which James Ramm has been on fire, George Hendy scored two worldies against Munster and Ollie Sleightholme is the Premiership’s player of the month.”
Furbank’s selection at full-back in place of Freddie Steward after two victories in the opening rounds was a statement of intent by England head coach Steve Borthwick as he looked to sharpen his side’s attacking threat.
Steward, who was given his chance at Leicester by Borthwick, had been one of the team’s most consistent performers and it was less a case of the Tiger being dropped as Furbank promoted.
“I was disappointed not to play in the first two games but also a bit surprised to get the opportunity in Scotland,” said Furbank. “I had a good chat with Steve and he gave me confidence going into the game.
“He said he wanted me to bring my strengths to the team and not veer away from what I had been doing with Saints. I felt I was in pretty good form and wanted to carry that on,” added Furbank who scored a try at Murrayfield and in the following round when champions Ireland were downed at Twickenham.
“We tried to implement the attacking style of play from the start of the tournament but it was tough to execute immediately when the boys had not had much time together. I felt we built nicely during the campaign and left it in a better place than when we started.
“It is an exciting time for English rugby on the back of a pretty tough year and we have two Premiership clubs in the Champions Cup semi-finals. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an all-English final?”
The games will come thick and fast for Furbank as the season approaches the knock-out stage. Yesterday’s East Midlands derby will be followed by Harlequins at Twickenham on Saturday, Toulouse at the start of next month and then Gloucester and Bath to close out the first phase of the Premiership.
“These are the games you want to be involved in,” said Furbank. “We have spoken as a group about making memories. We have had a few but we want to come away with trophies.
“We have put ourselves in a pretty good spot but we have not won anything yet. We want to be the team that wins things, not one that comes near and loses again. Our goal is to get a home semi-final in the Premiership playoffs and reach the Champions Cup final.”