Furbank gets 'extra buzz' from being Saints' stand-in skipper

Furbank delivered another fantastic performance on Saturday as he claimed the man of the match award in the 21-17 win against Sale Sharks at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

The 27-year-old took the captaincy again in Lewis Ludlam’s injury-enforced absence and led by example once more.

His second-half try moved him to five for the season, making it his most prolific campaign to date for Saints.

And the full-back’s quick tap penalty forced a penalty try to secure the win and extend Saints’ unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions.

It also stretched his own winning streak when leading the side to an astonishing nine victories in as many matches.

And Furbank said: “The captaincy side of things has helped bring the best out of me.

“It gets me going and it gives me that little bit of an extra buzz to fly into these games and lead from the front with my actions.

“It has given me that little bit of responsibility to know that if I am not leading by actions, boys are not going to follow. I have got to be in a place to be able to do that.”

Furbank highlighted his increased size gained from a summer of intense gym work that improved his physicality this season on both sides of the ball.

And he also pointed to the trust the squad has in each other to deliver, even when the chips appear to be down.

Saints trailed by 14 points early into the second half and then by 10 on the hour mark, but still managed to get the job done against a Sale side that had tasted defeat only once in their previous six Premiership matches.

“I don’t think anything is fazing us too much at the moment,” added Furbank.

“Obviously that first half could’ve really frustrated us but we sort of felt calm on the pitch.

"We had some good chats at half-time and came out in the second half and were able to execute what we wanted to execute.

“There’s a trust now as well; our game plan in our defence and our attack is going to dig us out of these holes if we execute it.

"Ultimately, when things aren’t going well, can we go back to what we know and what we trust? That is paying off at the moment.”

Phil Dowson’s side are competing strongly on two fronts, securing two bonus point wins to top Investec Champions Cup Pool 3 entering 2024 as well as sitting on top of the Gallagher Premiership.

“It is exciting but we’re only halfway through the season," Furbank said.

“We’ve got to keep pushing on.

"We’ve got Exeter away next week which is another big challenge, then we want to be able to qualify for the knock-outs of Europe.

"There’s a few big games on the horizon.”