Carpenter aims to outshine Furbank at Sale's Corpacq Stadium to press England case
In-form Sale full-back Joe Carpenter says he intends to outshine Harlequins' George Furbank on Sunday at Sale's Corpacq Stadium in the Premiership as he looks to force his way back into England contention. Carpenter extended his Sale contract in July to remain with the club until 2029.
Carpenter's early-season attacking numbers underline his intent: only Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has beaten more defenders in the first two rounds of the Premiership this season. Furbank was England's first-choice full-back this summer before an appendicitis sidelined him for last summer's Nations Championship, while Carpenter has not been involved in Steve Borthwick's set-up since winning his only Test cap in a 40-5 win over the United States in July 2025. Harlequins arrive seeking their first points of a difficult campaign.
Asked whether the personal duel with Furbank was motivating, Carpenter said: "Yeah I'd say so, in a certain aspect," and added: "Those boys [Harlequins] have just come off the back of a pretty big loss and they'll be emotionally spiked come this weekend. "So yeah it would be nice to have a very good performance against them and against that England competition"
Carpenter partly credits missing out on England selection for his strong start, citing the extra preparation time it allowed. After tours to Japan and New Zealand in 2024 and Argentina and the United States in 2025, he said his absence from a gruelling long-haul Nations Championship trip allowed him to take part in a full club pre-season for the first time in three years and noted: "Those summer tours are very intense - training's competitive, the games even more so - so to miss out on that was unfortunate," Carpenter added. "But to actually get a full 10 weeks of pre-season and preparation, getting the body right, was definitely something I needed. I think it's shown in spades really from the games, I feel a lot fitter and a lot stronger."
England coaches have challenged Carpenter to sharpen his decision-making in the backfield and to boost his stamina for repeated carries, and Sale reported him scoring highly in pre-season fitness testing. On his attacking strengths he said: "Beating defenders is a massive part of my game," and added: "But that repeatability is massive and something that I'm definitely feeling the benefits of, being able to go again and again and again at speed. "It is putting me in better positions and giving me more opportunities to not only just get the ball, but affect the play positively when I do." He also scored a hat-trick against Bath in the Premiership Cup last month.
Carpenter acknowledged doubts about re-signing after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign in which Sale finished seventh, won only five of their 18 league matches, suffered an 85-19 defeat by Saracens in April and were comfortably beaten by Leinster in the Champions Cup last eight. "After last season, re-signing was probably a bit tougher than it could potentially be," he said, but added: "After speaking to the coaches, understanding the game model going forward and hearing the signings that are coming in, I think it would have been very silly to leave." Former England captain Courtney Lawes heads the new signings and, backed by Tom Curry and George Ford, produced a strong showing as Sale recorded only their second-ever league win away to Saracens last weekend.
Carpenter said he remains just outside England's immediate selection picture but believes continued strong performances will help his cause: "I'm just probably outside the mix [for England] at the moment but having back-to-back performances and playing as well as possible will definitely put me in the best position to hopefully get involved come November." Their sides meet at Sale's Corpacq Stadium on Sunday.