Maybe it’s an Aussie thing, but Eddie Jones is never happier than when reaching for a cricketing analogy to describe all things rugby. The wily Australian knows how to swap categories and translate thinking from one sport to another. When he imagined Northampton full-back George Furbank looking down the runway at an international career in 2020, he immediately saw an all-rounder, a Freddie Flintoff or a ‘Beefy’ Botham.
All-rounders are typically slightly better at either batting or bowling and Eddie envisaged the youthful Franklins Gardens backstop as a 15 who could also play 10.
“I believe he can be a very good 10, maybe that’s going to be a position that we consider him strongly for in the future. I’ve always had this feeling, and speaking to [then Northampton head coach] Chris Boyd has reinforced that he has got the ability to play 10.
“George has got a calm demeanour, good catch-and-pass skills, a solid kicking game and he’s a strong defender. He reads the game well, he’s decisive and he runs good lines. He’s a very impressive young fella.
“He’s just one of those footballers that you don’t need to coach a lot. He just naturally knows how to play. He’s got great positional sense. A lot of players coming through now play to a particular pattern, whereas he plays to the position of the ball. He senses where the ball is going to be.”
That is the quintessence of a rugby back-line all-rounder distilled, the sum and the substance of the matter. All-rounders who can manage the shift from auxiliary to prime playmaker and back again tend to possess a wide range of skills, but above all they have a refined positional sense. They know exactly where to be to oil the wheels in attack or defence, and for that reason they become central ‘glue’ players in a team’s development.
It is probably no coincidence either that Furbank enjoyed a multi-sport background at school, and he had originally imagined a future as a professional cricketer. When he looked up at the big wooden commemorative ‘scoreboard’ at Bedford School, the Saint was spellbound by batting records broken by former England skipper Alastair Cook. Furbank went to the Sixth Form College for a couple of years, knowing Cook had gone there.
“The pavilion at Bedford is named after him, so you can’t escape it! Cricket was a big part of my life growing up – the 2005 Ashes was my first big memory.
“I looked up to Freddie Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. All my rugby came at Huntingdon Rugby Club from the age of five until I was 16 when I moved schools to Bedford.
“I had other sports at my first school, Kimbolton. I loved playing hockey, cricket and football there before my focus switched to rugby. It’s still pretty crazy to me I’ve played [rugby] for England.”
When Steve Borthwick ignited England’s first big cycle of improvement midway through the 2024 Six Nations, the backline players at the core of it were the two Georges [Ford and Furbank] in the playmaking axis, with Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade in the centres and Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso manning the wings.
Furbank had been brought in to replace Borthwick’s long-time favourite at Welford Road, 6ft 5in master of the airwaves Freddie Steward. As I observed at the time,
“With the estimable Freddie Steward at full-back, England have tended to kick back rather than risk making a mistake in that no-man’s land between the two 40m lines.
“With George Furbank at No.15, Steve Borthwick swapped Leicester for Northampton and went against type as a coach.
“‘Borthers pushed his chips all-in on counter-attack with ball-in-hand, from positions on the field he would previously have considered either highly suspect, or speculative at best.”
England’s eureka moment occurred as early as the fourth minute of the match against champions Ireland.
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 12, 2025
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 12, 2025
First the Northampton full-back returns the kick by Ireland’s James Lowe ball in hand, rather than booting the ball up in the air and chasing after it. Then he shows that refined positional sense Eddie Jones noted by escaping from the first ruck and recycling himself outside Ford to make the key pass on the scoring play. That’s an all-rounder for you. Furbank is in the right place at the right time, and he becomes the vital glue in England’s two-phase try.
When he picked Furbank for a 2022 ‘Le Crunch’ Six Nations fixture against France back in 2022, moving Steward to the less-familiar right wing spot to accommodate him, Jones had explained the tactical switch as follows:
“France is the highest kicking team in the world so I don’t think they are going to deviate away from that too much. They come through the centre with their big forwards and once they tie you up a little bit, they spread the ball to the backs but they won’t do that without using their long kicking game to get them up the field.”
Nothing much has changed in the intervening three years. When Les Bleus kick, they are prepared to be patient and they tend to kick long, looking for the ideal ball to run back at the opponent via their lethal back three. Look at the following table for average length of kicks from the 2025 Six Nations, which France won:
Maybe it is the Rugby League influence represented by Shaun Edwards in France and Andy Farrell in Ireland, but both of England’s principal rivals for the Six Nations title in 2026 kick longer than the likes of England, Scotland and Italy. The men in white may still want a kick returner at the back who can make the most of the opportunities that France and Ireland give them, the all-rounder who can either kick or bring the ball back by hand with equal facility.
In Furbank’s injury-enforced absence, Steve Borthwick selected Steward for the key November tour matches versus Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, and gave Harlequins’ Marcus Smith a run-out at 15 for the game against Fiji. Elliot Daly, 33, is also back in the frame after an arm fracture ended his tour of Australia with the British & Irish Lions.
With his booming left-foot kicking game and broad range of experience at both wing and centre, the Saracens man also falls into the all-rounder bracket, and the England head honcho described him in terms strikingly similar to Jones’ tribute to Furbank: “I always think those smart players can keep playing even later in their careers, because they have such intelligence about the game. I think Elliot’s in that category.”
While Steward has dropped some weight and become more elusive on the counter, he will probably never become the seamless all-rounders that Furbank and Daly already are. Therein lies a critical choice for Borthwick for the forthcoming Six Nations, on 21 February against Ireland at Twickenham; and on 14 March in the final match of the final round in Paris.
Furbank started for his club against Top 14 fast-risers Pau in the first round of the European Champions Cup, and after a sluggish start, his relationship with Saints’ principal playmaker Fin Smith began to shine. Northampton made two trademark scores where the interaction of numbers 10 and 15 was pivotal.
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 12, 2025
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 12, 2025
The shrewd chip-through and regather by Smith all starts from a kick return where his backfield partner-in-crime Furbank has cleaned out over the receiver, No.14 James Ramm on the right. After the initial cut has been made up the middle, the firm of Smith & Furbank has already recycled itself to make further progress down the right sideline on the next phase. Then the full-back showcases his ability as a facilitator, acting as scrum-half before sliding beyond Smith to provide the money pass out to the left on the final play. It is the speed of realignment by Smith and Furbank in attack which enables the move to continue, and the try to be scored. Between them, the pair contribute four passes, two runs, one kick and another cleanout in only 45 seconds of attacking play.
The second scoring sequence after oranges also originated from a receipt by Ramm, on this occasion with Smith providing the initial cleanout support.
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 12, 2025
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 12, 2025
With Smith out of play temporarily, Furbank picks up the thread at first receiver on two consecutive phases, and after Smith makes another break, he is there again to supply the killer pass to Ramm out on the right. Four passes, two cleanouts and one run in the space of 30 seconds. The interaction between the two is seamless and it glues the entire Northampton attack together on a sequence swinging from one sideline to the other.
When Jones initially spotted Furbank on his England radar, he envisaged a full-back with the skills to play at outside-half. When Furbank imagined himself playing international sport at school, he probably saw a batter looking up at the school records on the wall and aspiring to be the second coming of Alastair Cook.
That kind of versatility always finds a place in international sport, but the big question for Borthwick is where it fits in right now. The Saints man was an important factor in the English renaissance at the 2024 Six Nations and he is rapidly returning to both Test-worthy form and fitness. He has proved he can mind-meld with either Ford or Fin Smith, and against the longer kicking games of both France and Ireland, he could be an essential rather than a luxury.
Open the shoulders and swing the bat, Furbank could just be due another big innings for England.
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Great article NB and interesting debate.
Whilst the change to the 5x7’s has changed the ENG gameplan, we have basically ended with the defence playing like Saracens/Sale and the question is are we better to add a George Ford led style of Sale attack, or the more free flowing Fin Smith Saints style of attack to maximise the potential of this team to win the biggest prizes?
To answer that, I would then go back to the data. In modern rugby, teams are trying to score +4 tries per game (bonus point), along with a few penalties & conversions, so ultimately are trying to score +30 points, whilst restricting the try scoring bonus points of the opposition, so are trying to keep them under 20.
If you look at Sale under George Ford, they usually score 20-28 points in games, with a solid defence, which is why they don’t score that many tries per season and have ultimately struggled to win the big games at the end of season playoffs.
If you look at Saints, like last week in Europe (AWAY), they frequently score +30 points in games and they usually score more bonus points than Sale in a season, hence why they have had more success. I accept Saints were skewed last season, with a poor start and focusing on the Investec run but if you look at the average since Ford/Smith switched clubs, it will tell the tale.
Ultimately, the question is about playing style to suit the strategy. ENG need to move the ball far enough away from the opposition forwards to let the 3x7’s win the breakdown. With Ford, that is mainly through tactical kicking, which has been very effective. With F Smith, it’s usually by passing the ball to the outside centre channels and attacking the edges with a running full back.
When fit, ENG have the players to play both styles, the big question will be which version Lee Blackett prefers and which Steve Borthwick will allow and which style would give them the best chance to have the maximum success in games.
Interesting to see how this chat unfolds.
I’m not conivnced it as clear a choice between ‘a George Ford led style of Sale attack, or the more free flowing Fin Smith Saints style of attack’ P.
From previous experience with England I think Ford could run that Saints attack pretty well. You see that line Fin runs for the last try, George instinctively runs that same straightening line too.. It’s what has kept Marcus on the sideline - he would far more likely take a take a step outside, or try a hitchkick first!
There is fundamental diff here though P. When Ford is kicking the sevens are on chase and looking to win back ball at the BD or pick up the crumbs off a dropped ball. If ball is kept in hand, no more than one of them might be following the ball, and even then only for one or two phases before England/Saints drop into their shape with forwards spread across the field.
it’ll be interesting to see what Borthwick will do, but its important to remember (i) that Furbank’s best performances for England have been in games where Ford has played 10; and (ii) that England’s best - and most recent - performances under Borthwick have featured neither Fin nor Furbank. Completely changing up the backline now would be a fairly strange choice.
this is especially true when you consider what’s going on at centre. The best options at 12 would seem to be Seb Atkinson and Max Ojomoh, but both have only 2 caps. At 13 Ollie Lawrence is probably the best option - but he has been out of the team for a while - and Borthwick also seems to want to give an opportunity to Freeman - who has barely played there before for England. In other words, there are going to be new combinations tried out at 12 & 13 (neither Atkinson or Ojomoh have played alongside Lawrence or Freeman for England before), so Borthwick will probably want plenty of experience in the other backline positions.