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Test rookie George Furbank backed to deliver as the England No10

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Test rookie George Furbank has been backed to deliver for England if he runs out at Twickenham this Saturday wearing the unfamiliar No10 jersey. The regular Northampton full-back has worn the No15 jersey in his three previous Test starts under Eddie Jones, but he has done some training at out-half in the lead-up to this weekend’s game versus Tonga. 

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With Marcus Smith unable to train fully until Friday’s captain’s run, Furbank had provided out-half cover at training to skipper Owen Farrell, who was named as the England No10 when Jones announced his team on Thursday with Furbank named on the bench as the utility No23 and Smith as the No22 behind Farrell.

Within 24 hours, however, Farrell was placed in isolation after he tested positive for Covid and while England were hopeful that this finding would ultimately be deemed a false positive following retesting and free the captain to play, the expectation was that Furbank would take over the No10 jersey with Smith likely held in reserve. 

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England have yet to provide an update on the situation since Friday’s post-training media session at around 11am but at that stage, they were placing every faith in Furbank who has played at No10 at Northampton at times when Wales out-half Dan Biggar has been unavailable.  

“He [Furbank] is just a class player all round,” said Courtney Lawes. “He can pretty much play any position so he will be fine. The team run went really well on Friday and that will give everyone confidence, especially people that haven’t played much and may potentially be playing where they didn’t think they would be playing. It will be sweet. I guarantee you. 

“Marcus is a good player, has loads of confidence,” he added. “He has stepped up. He hasn’t been able to train much this week but he trained today [Friday], trained very well. It was great to see him back out there.” Lawes was named on Thursday as one of three new England vice-captains along with Tom Curry and Ellie Genge in support of skipper Farrell. 

Did Lawes know by the end of Friday’s captain’s run who will be captain versus Tonga if Farrell is ruled out? “Eddie will make those calls. We all have to do our bit anyway and whoever gets appointed captain we will all support and get on with it. We have been told but I can’t tell you.”

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Whatever about all the late drama leading into the Autumn Nations Series opener due to the Covid outbreak in the England camp, the seasoned Lawes has enjoyed the revamp conducted by Jones who has spruced up both the staff and playing resources. 

“It feels really exciting for me and it does feel like there is something a bit different about it. Since Eddie has been there we haven’t changed how we do things this drastically and it seems to me it is paying off. 

“We have got a good group that has bought into the fact that if we want to go and win some things in the near and distant future then we have to buy into being a team and wanting to get out there and play for each other. That is where we are heading and this is one stone on the path to getting there. 

“Definitely, it’s beginning to be a very player-led environment, not necessarily strategically or anything like that, but that is a good thing. The coaches have a big role strategically but socially and the fabric of the team is very much determined by the players and what they want to do and that is really good.”

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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