So he’s back. George Furbank, Northampton’s quiet but deadly full-back is starting for Saints in the European final against Bordeaux Bègles today (May 24).
As coach, car and trainloads of Saints fans will be excitedly making their way to the Principality Stadium, or various enterprising pubs and clubs in Northampton showing the game, the team will be focussing, resetting the determination and resilience which has seen them see off all comers on their path to the final. They might have had a bumpy time in the Prem this season, but my word, wouldn’t it be nice to be the best in Europe anyway?
England international 15 Furbank has been out since April, a niggle with the still-recovering arm he broke against Bulls at the end of the year curtailing his season and apparently his chance with the Lions. So it was perhaps a surprise to see him on that team sheet.
But Phil Dowson and Sam Vesty, Saint’s dynamic coaching duo, who have created a genuinely fun and fizzing base at Cinch Franklins’ Gardens, must have decided after this week’s ‘wait-and-see-how-training-goes’, that it actually went rather well.
Well enough for Furbank, as well as previous injury doubtfuls Curtis Langdon, Alex Coles and James Ramm, all of whom took knocks last week, to be included in the starting line-up, along with meaty winger Ollie Sleightholme, who has been added to the bench after a long layoff.
Tuesday’s presser – where players and coaches present themselves for interrogation by the local and national media – had a different vibe about it. Some of those reporters (not the NQ, of course) who had expressed doubts about Saints’ progress at the pre-Leinster presser, seemed far more positive, and dare I say hopeful, that this team, the last Premiership club left in the competition since before the Quarters, could bring it home.
“What we talk about is a regular performance on a very special occasion,” Dowson said. “Can we perform in terms of how hard we work, how quickly we get into our shape, how hard we defend, you know, all those sorts of things that are key to the fundamentals of our game?
“Can we do those under massive pressure? We don’t then want to make a huge song and dance about it. There have been huge distractions – one of them is the media, one is the travel, one is a different stadium with a roof, one of them is the expectation of playing in the final. So we want to normalise that but we also want to make sure we enjoy the opportunity.”
Rumours abound about the Principality’s retractable roof, and back in January it was announced the roof would stay shut for two years – creating a high sided, slightly muggy caldron of a neutral setting for the final against Bordeaux.
“It does get quite close, you know, quite clammy,” says Dowson, “it’s a different atmosphere, but when you’re running around and the crowd go nuts, it’s hard to replicate.”
There’s been plenty said elsewhere about how good the French side are, how they have superstars like Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Moefana, Maxime Lucu…how they’ve scored more than everyone else and yeah, well, Saints are pretty impressive too. They both play fast, Saints will need to score quickly, and defend hard. But that’s what you’d expect in a final, non? Joue!
Twenty five years after Northampton last won the European Cup, can they do it again? Thousands of the travelling green, black and gold faithful, hoping to flood Cardiff with colour, plus a fair few more back home in Northampton, will certainly hope so.
Here’s to a great day of rugby. See you there… Come on You Saints!
Northampton v Bordeaux Begles in the Investec Champions Cup Final kicks off at 2.45 Saturday May 24. Coverage on Premier Sports 1, S4C on iPlayer and YouTube.
