Blow for Saints ace Furbank as he is ruled out of England clash with All Blacks
Saints back George Furbank has been ruled out of England's second Test against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.
The 27-year-old was due to start at full-back, having been part of the side narrowly beaten 16-15 in last weekend's first Test.
But he has been withdrawn from the starting XV having suffered a back spasm on Friday morning, with Leicester Tigers' Freddie Steward getting the nod to replace him.
England scrum coach Tom Harrison revealed the news at a pre-match press conference, and said: “This morning George woke up and wasn’t quite right
“So, he flagged it to the medics and the medics do what they do and the decision was made between the medics, Steve (Borthwick, head coach) and George that he would be unavailable for selection this weekend.
"It is massively disappointing for George, he has been brilliant in the way he has been playing this season."
Steward will now play his first Test since February, and Harrison added: "We have got depth in that position and a world class player in Freddie Steward coming in.
"He’s got 33 caps, he's played in big Test matches consistently for England so it is a great opportunity for him. I think there are strengths of his game that he can bring to our game-plan.”
Furbank's withdrawal means the number of Saints players in the squad for Saturday's clash drops to five.
Scrum-half Alex Mitchell and winger Tommy Freeman will start, while on the bench are Saints team-mates Alex Coles, Fin Smith and Ollie Sleightholme.
The match is going to be a severe Test for England, as the All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park since 1994 - a 30-year run covering 48 matches.
Kick-off is 8.05am UK time, and the match is being screened live on Sky Sports.