Underperforming Harlequins have confirmed the signing of England’s full-back George Furbank as they seek to rebuild their squad for next season.
The 29-year-old Furbank has been an influential figure at Northampton, the league leaders, but a lucrative contract offer has persuaded him to try his luck in south-west London.
While Furbank has been sidelined through injury for lengthy chunks of the past two years, he remains a quality operator with 14 international caps who looks certain to be a member of England’s World Cup squad. Quins, second-bottom of the 10-team Prem, will be hoping he can have an immediate impact on their fortunes.
“I have been at Saints since I was 14-15 years old so it will be a different challenge, but I am keen to step out of my comfort zone,” he said. “I am hoping playing with a new group and under a new coaching staff is going to be refreshing and take my game to a new level. There is a lot here that is exciting for me.”
The Harlequins head coach, Jason Gilmore, is clearly a fan – “He’s someone we’ve admired for a long time” – but it leaves a sizeable hole for Northampton to fill.
Saints have said that retaining all their England squad members is increasingly a juggling act as fast-rising talents such as Henry Pollock shoot to prominence and seek a pay rise. It helps explain why Furbank is joining David Ribbans, Lewis Ludlam, Courtney Lawes and Teimana Harrison on the lengthy list of big-name departures over recent years.
“We wanted to keep George and I think he probably wanted to stay,” said Phil Dowson, Saints’ director of rugby. “But there’s lots of other context around it that has to work for him and us and unfortunately we couldn’t do that. At no point was there any animosity. It’s just one of those things.
“We tried to make an offer, but other clubs who are desperate for players will pay the money that potentially gets him out. If Saints suddenly had a multimillion-pound backer that might change things, but they don’t so we make decisions based on the financial situation at the club.
“It’s not always the right thing to keep a group entirely together. That’s what Sir Alex Ferguson did so well. He let some people go and he kept some others for a very long time. Furbs is one of those guys we would have loved to have kept longer, but we’ve had to make some very difficult decisions. It’s a moving jigsaw puzzle.”
Saints are set to welcome back their fit-again England half-backs Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell to their matchday squad for Friday’s Champions Cup quarter-final against Bath at the Rec.
Smith has been recovering after failing a head injury assessment against Saracens last month while Mitchell has not played since damaging a hamstring against Ireland in the Six Nations in February.
The Quins fly-half Jamie Benson, meanwhile, has opted to move to Ulster next season. Benson, who is Irish-qualified, has made 38 appearances for Quins since graduating from the club’s academy.