Furbank keen to make up for lost time as he looks forward to European adventure

And that was very much the case for George Furbank, who now can't take the smile off his face after finally putting his injury woe behind him in recent weeks.

The England full-back hasn't had much luck during the past year, suffering a broken arm back in a game at Vodacom Bulls last December before concussion and calf injuries kept him on the sidelines.

It has meant that he has so far only been able to play five matches during a hugely frustrating 2025.

And the 29-year-old has only been on the winning side in one of those, with Saints suffering three successive defeats since his return to action last month.

Not that any of those losses have been much to do with Furbank, who has returned to action and looked like he's never been away.

Saints were ahead against Newcastle Red Bulls when he came off in his first game back and he had a huge influence on a strong start at Leicester Tigers on the following weekend.

Furbank was then the standout player by some distance for Saints as he skippered them for the full 80 minutes in their painful 46-12 defeat at Bristol Bears last weekend.

But even the string of defeats haven't taken the shine off things for Furbank, who is not a man used to losing as he once enjoyed a record of 12 successive wins at Saints captain during the title-winning 2023/24 season.

"The last 11 months haven't been great but it's nice to be back on the field," Furbank said.

"Obviously I built into it with a 30, 60 and then to get the full 80 minutes under my belt was nice, albeit playing in a pretty disappointing game.

"It's been pretty tough and just having the feeling of being back and ready to go and then it happens again, and to do that multiple times, was pretty frustrating and I sort of lost a bit of faith in my body and being able to run again.

"It's taken a bit of time and a little bit of research into finding ways to get better, but I feel we're on top of that now, I've got a good prehab session, I'm on top of the nutrition and it feels on-point.

"My calves are feeling strong again so fingers crossed I can put together a bit of a run."

He added: "I'm just excited to be back!

"I don't think you realise sometimes how much you miss it until you stop playing.

"To have that length of time out, you go through waves and it got to this point where I'm back and hopefully I can put together a run now.

"It would have been nice to play in a winning performance last weekend but to get 80 minutes under my belt is another stepping stone.

"I felt alright, a little bit rusty in some areas but ultimately I want to be back enjoying my rugby and hopefully the form comes off the back of that."

Furbank is an upbeat and extremely affable character who has refused to let his bad luck get the better of him.

It would have been easy for him to feel the world was against him, especially when he suffered an incredibly unfortunate head injury during the opening five minutes of Saints' Investec Champions Cup final defeat to Union Bordeaux Bègles back in May.

Furbank was on the ground when the knee of the onrushing Romain Buros hit him at severe speed.

It knocked him out and though he was able to eventually take his place on the bench, he had to watch on powerless as Saints were beaten in their Cardiff showpiece.

So does he ever sit and rue his misfortune?

"I don't think too much like that," Furbank said. "It was probably just one of those years.

"In the three or four years before that, I'd been pretty lucky with injuries and so I guess it was just my time.

"Looking at the likes of Sammy G (Sam Graham) and Robbie (Smith) going through those long-term ACL injuries and how they dealt with it was sort of motivation for me to keep plugging away and get back better."

Another player who has helped with Furbank's motivation is Ollie Sleightholme, who has also suffered a string of injuries of late.

The two England stars have spent plenty of time rehabbing together.

And Furbank said: "We've probably been winding each other and the physios up a bit too much so hopefully we can both stay away from that (physio) room for a bit!

"Company is massive because it can get pretty lonely when you're in the gym doing the same rehab sessions day after day when you just love being out on the pitch and training.

"Watching the boys put together a very good start to the season and not being able to be involved in that is pretty tough.

"So to have Sleights alongside me and other boys doing their bits of rehab was pretty important."

Now fit again, Furbank is desperate to make up for lost time.

And how he'd love to get that winning feeling back this Sunday, when Saints travel to Section Paloise for a tough Investec Champions Cup opener (kick-off 1pm UK time).

"The European competition has been something we've really got behind and we spoke about making memories on and off the pitch," Furbank said.

"We've definitely done that and the memories off the pitch are a lot easier to make when you've made the memories on the pitch first.

"It's just relishing opportunities to go and play in places and in atmospheres you wouldn't necessarily have played before.

"This year, I don't think anyone bar Tony (Belleau) has played Pau away before so that's an incredibly exciting place to go and play.

"Tony spoke pretty highly of the atmosphere and the crowd there so we're looking forward to this weekend.

"Ultimately, we want to go on a similar run to what we have been in the past few years."

Saints have been handed a tough draw as they must go to Pau and Bordeaux during the pool stages.

"Two good wine regions so it would be nice to get a win on the road and enjoy a glass of wine after!" Furbank said.

"It's just about relishing the opportunities to go and play in these great places.

"A lot of boys would go through their career and not get to play in stadiums like this, depending on draws and stuff like that.

"We're excited for the competition."

Saints have not had an easy time of it in France over the years, but Furbank did start in a superb win there back in January 2020 when Lyon were defeated 36-24 at Matmut Stadium.

"I watched the video of that the other day and I look pretty young!" Furbank said.

"Playing in France, it feels a bit more like a football party atmosphere and it's loud a lot of the time.

"They feed off that and Tony's spoken a lot about the emotional energy French teams get from playing at home.

"The crowd get behind them and they get properly revved up for those sorts of games.

"It's Pau’s first ever Champions Cup game so it will be a good crowd and they're the sort of places I love to play."