I’ve been mulling over whether to start off by talking about how Friday night’s semi final is George Furbank’s last game at the Gardens. I’m not usually superstitious, but I made a big ol’ fuss about Furbs before the European Cup Final in Cardiff and things didn’t quite go to plan.
But there’s no doubt in the players and coaches’ minds that their game is going to be positively influenced by their departing Captain’s last run-out at the Cinch FG, as Furbank, Dowson, Hutch, Coles and Dowson discussed at Monday’s presser.
George is probably sick of talking about it, but there’s no doubt it will add something to the game, such is the depth of feeling amongst the squad for Furbank, who is leaving his boyhood club after ten years to move down to Harlequins next season.
It’s a big deal for the tight-knit Saints backs, many who have been together since their academy days, and there have been jokes about ‘breaking up the band’, making Furbs the Geri Halliwell of the group as the first to leave (a Spice Girls reference that flew over his head, seeing as he was a toddler at the time).
He said: “It’s exciting, but a bit emotional. It’s going to be weird but I’m relishing the game. Friday night at home is going to be a pretty epic way to go out at the Gardens, but I don’t think it will sink in until the season’s done, whenever that is. I’m pretty desperate to finish on a high and I know this group’s hungry for more silverware as well. Friday nights here are always special, then add a semi final, add a Derby game, it’s going to be an epic occasion.”
Saints have finished top of the Gallagher Premiership, but that doesn’t mean any trophies yet – if they win against local rivals Leicester on Friday, they’re through to a Twickenham final against the winner of the Bath V Exeter game on Saturday afternoon. Lose, and that’s it. Season – and Furbank’s time in green, black and gold – done.
Rory Hutchinson, who just celebrated his 200th game for Saints after starting in 2015, said he had originally had mixed emotions when Furbank’s departure was announced earlier in the season. “You hear rumours but you don’t actually know until it get’s announced on their socials or whatever, but I remember I was sitting there and I was a bit upset, a bit sad. I came in the next day and said to him, ‘I’ve been here, every day, every day you’ve been here I’ve been part of it.’ from someone who couldn’t even pass with his left hand, and was only about 80 kilos.
“But I got to see him grow and see him achieve achieve so much – obviously, he had a bit of a tough time last year with his injuries, but the fact he kept his head down and he turned it around – I’m glad to be part of his story here at Northampton. But unfortunately all good things come to an end and he will be missed. Yeah, it’s been like a boyband hasn’t it? He’s given his heart and soul to this club and as a leader, he’s fearless.”
The team, of course, is still smarting after a defeat at Welford Road a month ago, which is further motivation to put things right this week. “That was one of those days when they rocked up and played very well, and we rocked up and didn’t perform at all,” says Furbank. “But we have to look at the whole journey we’ve had in the season, we’ve broken a record for points and the tries as well.
“You’ve got to go out and earn it, and that’s what we intend to do. The crowd here bring an unbelievable atmosphere and that’s one of the things I’m going to miss.”
So how do players cope with the mental pressures of a game like this, when they’ve topped the Premiership, but by the end of just one 80 minute game, it could either be the end of their season or a final at Twickenham?
“Obviously I’ve never been in the position of a home semi final and it’s my last game at home, so it’s something new to me. I’m going to have to not get revved up too early. I feel like the more experience you have in these sorts of games, the easier it is to understand where you are and try and build up to that crescendo of Friday.
“And to the fans, a thank you for everything you’ve done, you’ve been incredible for the ten years I’ve been here, and I’d love to bring it one more time.”
Friday sees second row stalwart Alex Coles back in the starting line-up, alongside Ed Prowse, who he thinks deserves more praise: “I’m glad you mentioned Prowsey, I think he’s gone under the radar slightly, he deserves some plaudits. He wasn’t initially signed by Saints, went out to Cov[entry], they brought him back, he was playing tighthead prop, didn’t quite work out, but he has a lot of attributes that are so good; he’s a very good ball handler, carries hard, skillful defender, hits hard, moves really well for a big man.
“And credit to the coaches, they decided to give him a shot in the second row. To have worked so hard at a position and to be told you were going to change, it must have been difficult for him. But he’s a proper workman…he reminds me a bit of Joe Launchbury back in the day, getting through so much work, physical, abrasive but smart as well? Like he reads the game well, ends up in the right positions a lot and yeah, I can’t praise him enough for how quickly he’s developed in a new role and there’s plenty more left in him.”
And on Furbank’s last game, Coles seems genuinely emotional: “Just gutted really, that I’m going to miss playing with someone who’s a good friend of mine. It adds another layer of motivation. We’ll stay in touch and stuff and it will be interesting to play against them [Quins] next season.”
Director of Rugby Phil Dowson, who won DoR of the Season at the Premiership awards just a couple of nights later, had already made much of his selection by Monday, and said Monday’s training had been ‘lively’ following the weekend’s inconsequential but ultimately annoying loss at the Stoop.
“The boys came in banging, we’d made some selection decisions already and some of the boys were disappointed, as you can imagine,” says Dowson. He outlines Leicester’s strengths but repeats a few times a message that’s been directed at the squad in the run up to Friday: Special occasion, special opportunity, normal performance.
“We need them to understand that our game is good enough and they’ve got enough credit in the bank in terms of how hard we’ve trained, and it’s proven to be successful when we get it right. We’re not trying to do anything special; the way we do it might be special in terms of intensity, the physicality, but what we’re doing isn’t going to change.”
While the club’s sports psychologist Oli Dixon has been having one to ones with the players this week, how does Dowson cope with the mental pressures of the game?
“I’ve got a quote from an old DoR, when we lost to Bath, who’d I’d played against a few times. He said ‘winning is not within your control, but being constantly competitive is‘. I can’t control whether we win or lose: Leicester might turn up and be outstanding. We’re mature enough to understand that.
“What we can control is how competitive we are; how hard we train, how well we recover, and connect and how excited we are. The one thing I don’t want us to do is get tight, I want us to be free to go and express ourselves and play our game, because when we play our game we’re really good, we’re a really good group. So I’ll sleep well, yes, I’ll be nervous about the game like everyone else but that fundamentally what I can control.”
