Saints skipper Furbank eager for run of games after returning from lengthy spell on sidelines

Furbank played 33 minutes as he made his comeback against Newcastle Red Bulls, setting up a try for Ollie Sleightholme in that match, before getting another hour in against Leicester Tigers on Friday night.

The England star started at fly-half and skippered Saints at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, producing a strong performance that was labelled 'outstanding' by boss Phil Dowson.

Furbank, who had been sidelined since the end of last season due to head and calf injuries, is delighted to be back in action.

And he is now eager to get more game time as Saints get stuck into a huge set of matches in the Gallagher PREM and Investec Champions Cup.

"It was nice to get some more minutes under my belt," said Furbank after the 34-22 defeat to Leicester.

"I had a bit of a taste of it at home, a bit of a taste away so hopefully next week I can get an 80 in.

"They (the calves) are good. The rest of my body is now catching up, getting used to getting hit and hitting as well so I'm grateful to be back.

"It's been a long spell on the sidelines so hopefully I can put a run together now.

"It's about trying not to go in half-hearted because I think you risk yourself a bit more when you do that.

"It's about going back in and trusting your body after being out for so long, even though it's a tough thing to do mentally.

"It's just nice to be back out there and I'm enjoying it."

Furbank had helped to steer Saints into a 15-12 lead during the first half at Tigers, but the home side bounced back to move 19-15 in front at the break.

And Leicester went on to bag a bonus-point win as Saints only had a late Oliver Scola try to show for their second-half efforts.

"I don't really know how we were behind at half-time to be honest," said Furbank, who kicked a conversion and a drop goal.

"It felt like we were dominating but they scored a couple of breakaway tries and in the second half the error count just went through the roof. You can't do that in any game, particularly away from home, and they capitalised on it so fair play to them.

"It was really disappointing from us in the second half.

"It's pretty hard to say why it happened but sometimes you just have those days."

Saints have taken 10 points from a possible 20 in the PREM Rugby Cup and are now readying themselves for a return to league action, at Bristol Bears, on Saturday.

"We've probably got to go and win all the other games to get into the (cup) knockout stages," Furbank said.

"We're back into the PREM and Europe now so we're focused on that.

"We're in a good spot in the PREM and we want to start well in Europe as well.

"We've not won at Bristol in a long time but we've been good away so far this season so we're going to take heaps of confidence going into that."