'We respect his decision' - Saints announce 'top man' Furbank will be leaving
Boss Phil Dowson says Saints tried to keep George Furbank but respects his decision to join Harlequins, labelling the club captain 'a top man'.
Furbank will make the move to the Twickenham Stoop at the end of June, bringing the curtain down on a 10-year senior career at Saints.
The England full-back initially progressed through Saints’ Academy pathway system, signing his first professional contract in 2016 and making his senior debut in November 2017 against Exeter Chiefs in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
A Gallagher PREM debut followed the following term, when Furbank made his first-team breakthrough.
Since then, he has gone on to make 140 appearances so far for Saints, scoring 283 points along the way, while also earning 14 England caps following his Test debut in the 2020 Six Nations.
Saints would have liked to tie Furbank to a new deal but the offer from Quins proved to be preferable for the 29-year-old, with Dowson admitting it is difficult to keep hold of all of his key men as the club continues its rise.
“George is an outstanding player of exceptional talent and character who has made a significant contribution to our success in recent years," Dowson said.
"His journey from the Academy to club captain epitomises what Northampton Saints is all about.
“He’s also a brilliant leader, always putting the team first and thinking deeply about how to communicate with and get the best out of our group.
“One of the biggest challenges for this club is retaining a squad full of homegrown talent season after season. The more successful we are at developing players, the more interest they attract from elsewhere.
“Squad retention isn’t just about the next 12 months – it’s a long-term process that requires us to balance a number of factors including performance, the salary cap, and succession planning over several years, and that inevitably creates some difficult decisions.
“George had other competitive offers to weigh against ours, and ultimately he chose a different path. That’s part of professional rugby, and while naturally we’re disappointed to see him move on, we respect his decision and support him fully.
“George is a top man who cares profoundly about Saints, and I know this wasn’t a decision he took lightly.
"He remains fully committed to helping the team perform at the highest level possible this season, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure his final campaign is a successful one.
"When the time comes, we’ll wish him all the best for the future.”