- Northampton Saints face Bordeaux in the Investec Champions Cup final
- England’s George Furbank starts despite just 52 minutes of rugby this season
- Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson admits Furbank’s selection is a gamble
Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson admitted he’s gambled with his decision to start George Furbank in Saturday’s crunch Investec Champions Cup final with Bordeaux.
England full-back Furbank missed the Six Nations and has played only 52 minutes of competitive rugby this year due to a long-term arm problem.
But he has been named to start at No 15 for the huge European decider at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
His fellow Saints James Ramm, Alex Coles and Curtis Langdon have also all overcome knocks to begin the game.
England wing Ollie Sleightholme – who had previously been ruled out for the season after ankle surgery – is also a shock presence on the Northampton bench.
‘It’s always a gamble,’ Dowson said of his selection of Furbank.
George Furbank will start the Investec Champions Cup final for Northampton Saints
Furbank (left) has only played 52 minutes of competitive rugby this year due to an arm problem
Phil Dowson has admitted starting Furbank in a European final is a ‘gamble’
‘Whenever you bring someone back from injury, there’s always a point where they’ve got to hit somebody, make a cover tackle, or go flat out. There’s always a risk there.
‘We’re confident he can drop back in from a skills and confidence perspective.
‘George hasn’t been a mile away. From an arm point of view, he’s had a couple of issues.
‘He’s been getting back into running after a long time away. He’s one of the fortunate ones for who the timing has worked well.’
Furbank is Saints club captain and a certain starter for club and country if fit.
He is likely to wear a forearm protector for the match to protect the knock he first suffered last December.
The 28-year-old broke his arm on club duty in South Africa at the end of last year.
Furbank warms up for the final in Cardiff
In the win over Castres on April 12, Furbank came off the bench in the third minute but was then replaced in the 55th after suffering a reoccurrence of the same problem.
Asked what Furbank brings to his team, Dowson said: ‘Leadership, quality, experience.
‘We saw that when he came back in against Castres and had two assists and a try.
‘It was a good 52 minutes. He’s now a fairly-seasoned international and club captain.
‘We all know what a consummate ball player he is. His talent is well documented.
‘Ideally, we want more of the same. I think what was impressive (against Castres) was his ability to drop back into our game plan and still see space and make good decisions.
‘Nothing quite replicates a game, but his ability to do that straight off the bat was very impressive.’
If fully fit, Furbank’s presence is a huge boost for Saints.
However, that remains a big if and time will tell if he can last the course of what will be a hugely testing final on the back of so few match minutes.
Bordeaux are favourites and will be sure to target him.
Their side is packed full of internationals led by scintillating French backs in the likes of Damian Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu.
