Furbank enjoying life at Harlequins as Smith partnership prepares for Saracens clash
George Furbank joined Harlequins at The Stoop in the summer after spending 10 years in Northampton’s senior squad, and he is set to start alongside Marcus Smith for the third successive Premiership game on Sunday against Saracens.
Furbank said the move followed Northampton not offering him a longer contract and Harlequins stepping in; he contrasted his new London lifestyle with the club’s Guildford training base and described settling closer to central London to be near his partner and old school friends. "Big city lights don't bother me," goes Northampton's victory song,, external a version of local anthem The Fields Are Green. "Northampton Saints I'd rather be." He added: "Yeah, the big city lights are a change, but a change I'm enjoying," says Furbank.
Questions were raised about Harlequins’ plan for a twin playmaker axis after Furbank’s debut, a match in which a Smith-less Quins were beaten 48-0 by Gloucester. Critics pointed to a perceived weakness in the pack, but the coaching staff persisted with pairing Furbank and Smith.
On the field their combination produced notable moments against Sale: after two minutes Smith pulled the ball out the back to Furbank, whose long pass allowed hooker Sam Riley to trundle in, and after eight minutes Furbank’s quick hands created a try for Smith. The pair combined again after 19 minutes as part of a blindside pod that barged through for another score, though Harlequins ultimately lost that match 28-24. The duo then played a key role in a resounding Challenge Cup victory over French side Vannes the following week.
Furbank spoke about Smith’s qualities in detail, saying: "He's a one-of-a-kind player," said Furbank. "I think people take him for granted sometimes in terms of the player he can be. The things he can do on a rugby pitch - I don't think many others many others can do "He's obviously a massive threat with ball in hand and has a great passing game as well, so it's just about trying to understand what he's going to do in certain moments then making my move off that." The two start together again on Sunday in the Premiership fixture with Saracens.
Saracens have added fuel to the fixture’s intensity on social media, labelling the Stoop meeting as Quins' 'cup final' on X, and Harlequins have produced wins in recent encounters — a 20-14 home victory in a feisty match last season and another dogged display in the same fixture in 2024. Prop Fin Baxter returns after 10 months out to bolster Harlequins’ pack, and the hosts aim to end a run of three straight league defeats by completing a hat-trick of wins over Saracens.
England’s training squad to prepare for the Nations Championships is due to be announced in the hours after the final whistle on Sunday, and Furbank — who missed England’s summer campaign after appendicitis added to a long run of injuries — says he is "chomping at the bit" to be involved. He stressed immediate priorities remain at club level: "We're chasing a performance and if we start performing consistently for 80 minutes, we feel the wins will come," he says, adding that "Sunday and Saracens would be a perfect place to start."