Saints captaincy gives Furbank 'extra motivation'

George Furbank captained the Bedford School side before joining Northampton's academy in 2015

England full-back George Furbank believes he will need to be at his best every time he steps out for Northampton Saints next season after being confirmed as the club's new captain.

Furbank was named last week as the successor to Lewis Ludlam, who left the Premiership champions in order to move to France.

Having some experience last season, he has a 100% record as skipper, having led the team to 12 wins from 12 games last season, to try to maintain.

"I don't know if it will feel any different being named as team captain or jumping in and out of the role. Being captain last year I think brought out the best in me, I loved it," Furbank told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"It gave me extra motivation. If you're going to be a leader, you need to be at the top of your game so other boys follow. For me to be able to speak and bring the best out of the other boys, my game needs to be at the top.

"I haven't thought about how I'm going to captain. I'm going to try and take it as it comes and learn from each game. I had a bit of experience last season and reasonably know what to expect - hopefully I'm not going to change in any way."

Captaining from full-back can present a challenge in itself as he is not part of the engine room of the team.

"Last year it was pretty handy having Courts [Courtney Lawes] in the team. I just told the ref, 'Can you speak to Courts, please' and then he would deliver the message for the team," the 27-year-old said.

"Colesy [Alex Coles] is probably going to have to take over that role this year. I'll speak to the refs beforehand and say I'm not going to be there for the small messages, but if it's a big message then I'll come and speak to you."

Saints are hoping to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Saracens in 2018 and 2019, and also hope to improve on their appearance in last season's European Champions Cup semi-finals.

Furbank, who was not involved in Northampton's 54-26 pre-season home defeat by Leinster on Saturday, said: "We've got a bit of a different squad this year, we've lost some big players but we've also signed some exciting young talent.

"There's going to be different drivers for different members of the squad. For the core group from last year, there is the motivation that we would be the only Saints team to go back to back. That is a huge motivator.

"We’ve got guys who are coming in who have and haven’t won titles, so that’ll be their motivation. It is about pulling in the same direction."

He is also hoping to add to his nine England caps, having scored two tries in last season's Six Nations.

"This was my first year with England that I felt I deserved to be there based on my form in the Premiership, which made me more comfortable and confident in the environment," he added.

"Previously I went in and my game wasn’t where I wanted it to be. And if you’ve doubts going into an international game, then you're screwed.

"The similar group from Six Nations to the summer tour also helped as you build those connections and friendships. The England squad is a good place to be at the moment."