Northampton given hope of a George Furbank return for Bulls clash

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson refused to rule out George Furbank being available for his side’s Investec Champions Cup quarter-final showdown.

The Saints will host South African side the Bulls at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday night after they overcame Munster last weekend.

Full-back Furbank, who has been one of Northampton’s star attacking weapons this season, missed the 24-14 victory with a calf injury.

But Dowson revealed the 27-year-old, also impressive for England in their recent Six Nations campaign, could be in contention to play this weekend.

Asked if Furbank is out of Saturday’s fixture, Dowson replied: “He has trained a bit more so we will just wait and see.

“Any of these soft-tissue things we are very nervy around because you give them a go and then you wait to see what the reaction is.

“He has done a few bits today so we will manage him coming back in really, in terms of when he gets into contact, and when he gets offline.”

Northampton’s last-eight opponents face an arduous journey to England with the squad travelling on eight different airlines.

The quarter-final ties were only confirmed after the round-of-16 matches on Sunday, adding to the logistical headache.

Frustrated Bulls boss Jake White said before his team’s departure: “It’s not ideal. The reality is that we’re talking about a high-performance sport and being competitive.

“There aren’t a lot of teams that leave on eight different airlines on a Tuesday evening to play a Saturday night game.

“It isn’t what was expected. We were sold that it’s an overnight flight to Europe to go play there in the beginning. Instead, it recently took 28 hours and 27 hours to and back from Leinster and whether we like it or not, it comes at a cost.

“No sporting team today as I speak flies out with eight different aeroplanes, some to Birmingham, some to London. Some land at nine. Some land at two. You’re talking about a competition where you want to be the best in the world. It doesn’t add up.”

And Dowson admitted he feels sympathy for White ahead of the short-notice trip to England.

“You don’t book a holiday the week before, so it is incredibly tough for him,” added Dowson.

“All you are trying to do as a coaching group is to give that playing group the best opportunity to go and perform and that (the travel) makes it tricky, so, yes, I feel for Jake and the rest of that crew trying to put all that logistics together.”