Title-winning skipper Furbank so grateful to Saints as he gets his perfect send-off

Those were the words of George Furbank after he lifted the Gallagher PREM trophy for the second time with Saints on Saturday afternoon.

The skipper got the fairy-tale send-off he was desperate for as he steered the black, green and gold to title glory in his final game before joining Harlequins.

And Furbank, who also won the PREM with Saints in 2024, said: "Calling myself a PREM champion is something I never thought I'd get to do, so to do it twice and finish on this high is pretty special.

"This club has given me everything: an opportunity, friendships for life, time in front of the best coaches in the world. I owe this club a lot.

"From the age of 15 to now, it's been some journey.

"I never thought I'd get the opportunity to pull on the jersey.

"Being a fan and now a player and a two-time PREM winner is pretty cool."

Saints were pushed to the limit by Exeter Chiefs, but they eventually prevailed 26-17 thanks to two quickfire second-half tries from George Hendy.

"I'd rather we put a bit of a better score and performance on, to be honest, because in those last 10 minutes I was kind of watching the clock go down," Furbank said.

"It was pretty tough and I don't really know how to feel. It's probably more relief than anything at the moment. Once that settles in, I'll really enjoy it.

"It's been a tough week, just trying to stay as focused as I can on the game but not let emotions get to me too much.

"I probably came into the game a little bit exhausted with all that going on so I've learned my lesson there.

"I've loved every minute of these last 10 years. It's been a hell of a journey."

Furbank had the tough task of lifting the new PREM trophy, which is extremely heavy.

"I was getting pushed from behind, trying to lift a 30kg trophy so it wasn't easy!" he said.

"Our S&C (strength and conditioning team) put in some trophy lifts last week in the gym so I had a bit of practice but I'd rather lift it than not lift it!"