Full-back missed out for England when he had appendix out but could be key for Steve Borthwick if his luck changes
George Furbank must have cracked a few mirrors in his time. A second Prem winners’ medal was some way to bring the curtain down on his Northampton career but when it comes to England, he cannot catch a break. Indeed, it is staggering to consider the 29-year-old full-back has just 14 caps to his name, only one more than his former Saints teammate Henry Pollock, who is only 21.
It was supposed to be No 15 against South Africa in July – more than 18 months since his previous England appearance – but Furbank woke up feeling off colour the day before the match and was sent for a scan by the team doctor. The results arrived at 7pm on the Friday night – Furbank would need to stay in hospital and have his appendix out on the Saturday. The wait would go on.
“[The pain] wasn’t too bad because it hadn’t burst, it wasn’t agony,” says Furbank. “What I told the boys was that it felt like I had really bad trapped wind. It felt like my stomach was cramping a bit so I was hoping I would get to the hospital and then just fart and leave. It wasn’t agony but it was pretty uncomfortable. After the operation I had come to terms with it a little bit more but, before, it was tough to hear that I was going to miss out again.”
To make matters worse, he had to remain in England’s Johannesburg hotel after the squad had gone home, unable to fly so soon after an operation. Then, on the way home, he was struck down by a stomach bug which forced him back into hospital upon his return to the UK. “On the flight back I actually ended up getting diarrhoea and vomiting,” he says. “So I was back in hospital when I got back to England because they were worried it was to do with the operation. Thankfully it wasn’t. It would be nice to put a run of games together and not have something go wrong.”
That is an understatement. Furbank’s last appearance for England came in November 2024 when he dazzled from full-back in a 59-14 victory over Japan. He broke an arm the next month and a recurrence of the injury, along with calf, knee and concussion problems all contributed to his absence from the international stage.
With a gameplan tailored around box-kicking and winning the ball back, Freddie Steward thrived at full-back during England’s winning run from the summer of 2025 through to early 2026 but as their desperate Six Nations campaign demonstrated, the game has moved on. There is no better illustration of the need for players of Furbank’s ilk than the ongoing Test series between South Africa and New Zealand, who employ at least two playmakers in their back division. Furbank feels like the missing piece of the jigsaw for Steve Borthwick’s side.
“I think you are seeing a few more playmakers in there now, just with how good defences are, battering down a wall often doesn’t work and you need a bit of creativity to break down defences,” he says. “You are seeing a few more of those playmakers, whether it be in the centres or the back three.”
Marcus Smith, the man who replaced him in Johannesburg and his new Harlequins teammate, certainly thinks so. With Smith at fly-half and Furbank at full-back, their budding partnership at the Stoop promises to be electrifying, under the guidance of attack coach Brad Cooper, who helped the Hurricanes to the Super Rugby title in the same role before his arrival.
“[George’s] vision that he has outside will massively help us get the attack firing,” says Smith, who revealed Furbank picked his brains about a move to south-west London. “I’ve played a fair few games with him for England, 10 and 15, so I understand how he wants the ball, I understand where his strengths are and I hope that he does mine as well.
“The game is definitely leaning towards multiple ball players on the field. You look at New Zealand in the first Test against South Africa, the way that [Damian] McKenzie and [Ruben] Love orchestrated that game. They didn’t let South Africa recover, even against a blitz, and I think that’s what having two guys who see space, who are brave enough to call the ball to space, that’s what it does. So definitely, it’s important, especially at this time in rugby, where attack’s probably got the upper hand.”
Borthwick has only 12 matches to go before England’s World Cup campaign but evidently he still values Furbank, handing him an enhanced contract last month and including him in this week’s pre-season training camp. If Furbank’s luck finally changes we should find out just how valuable he could be.
