George Furbank major doubt for Six Nations with broken arm

England full-back George Furbank is a major doubt for the Six Nations after he fractured his right forearm during Northampton Saints’ 30-21 win over the Bulls in Pretoria.

Furbank, the Saints captain, left the field half an hour into Saturday’s Champions Cup game after he hit the turf following a tackle from opposition back-rower Elrigh Louw. The 28-year-old, who started three of England’s four autumn Tests, immediately held the affected arm in a makeshift sling.

He was scheduled to have further scans on Tuesday to determine whether the injury will require surgery, with a six-week lay-off the very best-case scenario. In theory, Furbank could be fit again by the end of January but is more likely to be aiming for a return during the second half of the Six Nations.

Steve Borthwick is set to name the England squad for the tournament on January 14, with his side taking on Ireland in Dublin on February 1 in their opener.

Saints will also have to cope without Furbank for a crucial run of fixtures.

The reigning Premiership champions travel to Saracens on Sunday before hosting Newcastle and then Bath in domestic action. When the Champions Cup resumes in January, they visit Stade Français and welcome Munster.

“It’s a big loss,” said Sam Vesty, the Saints head coach, of Furbank. “He’s our club captain and he’s really grown into that leadership role over the past two years.

“His counter-attacking ability, his ability to make other people look good and his calmness are all really strong traits of George’s. They’ve got him a long way and I think he’s the number one full-back in the country at the moment.”

Who could replace Furbank in the Six Nations?

England’s full-back position seemed to symbolise their own philosophical wrangling in 2024.

Freddie Steward began the year as the incumbent, and did little wrong before George Furbank unseated him ahead of a trip to Murrayfield in round three of the Six Nations.

Scotland beat England again, but Steve Borthwick retained Furbank and was rewarded with a stirring victory over Ireland. That triumph remains Borthwick’s statement result as head coach.

Furbank’s verve when returning kicks, as well as his poise as a secondary playmaker, appeared to be crucial to England moving forward. And then, after the introduction of new law directives urging referees to clamp down on ‘escorting’ during the autumn internationals, Borthwick assessed the course and changed horses.

Against the aerial onslaught of South Africa, who hoist kicks and ask their athletic wings to contest, Steward’s unique selling point became more valuable. Furbank was dropped for the towering Leicester Tiger when England hosted the Springboks, but returned again for the visit of Japan.

Borthwick has several options if he has to cope without the Saints skipper for the start of 2025 at least. Steward is striving to become a slicker link man and attacked particularly effectively in Leicester’s recent loss to Bordeaux. One of his drawbacks is that he can get outmanoeuvred in defensive systems that ask full-backs to continually shoot up outside their wings into the front line and shut down space.

Joe Carpenter, the dynamic Sale Shark, toured Japan and New Zealand last summer and impressed for England A in November’s win over Australia. Marcus Smith, who began to flirt with full-back around 18 months ago in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup, is still an auxiliary option. Borthwick moved Smith there in two of the autumn Tests, against both Australia and Japan.

England finished their autumn with a half-back pairing of Harry Randall, Fin Smith and a centre partnership of Ollie Lawrence and Tommy Freeman to complement a back three of Ollie Sleightholme, Tom Roebuck and Marcus Smith. It was a quirky combination, shaped by replacements, that demonstrated the possibilities at hand.

In reality, though, even though Harlequins have used him there in the Premiership this term and even if he has defended superbly in isolated situations, it would be highly surprising for England to post Marcus Smith at full-back from the beginning of a Six Nations game. The high balls would rain down relentlessly.

But there could be an as yet untried tyro capable of melding the best assets of the current contenders; namely height, pace, elusive footwork and confidence on the ball.

George Hendy would also be aided by existing cohesion with the Northampton colleagues who will undoubtedly press for selection. Alex Mitchell and Freeman are bound to be in the England mix, with Sleightholme, Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall all pushing hard as well.

Now 22, Hendy chose last season’s Premiership final to underline his capacity to conjure tries out of nothing. His mazy, 40-metre run beat three Bath tacklers to set up a match-winning try for Mitchell. On Saturday, he ghosted onto the shoulder of Fin Smith to score within two minutes of replacing Furbank. Vesty, who has a decent eye for back-line talent, is a big fan.

“George is very good; he’s got a very bright future,” Vesty said of Hendy on Tuesday. “He’s a really good games player, which means he can see space and create space. Allied to that, he’s physically so strong and quick that he gets out the back of tackles and is a very difficult man to bring down.

“He’s working on some parts of his game that need working on, but I think he has the mindset and physical ability to get [to Test level]. I do.”

Borthwick’s style has been to promote from within wider squads, which would stand Steward and Carpenter in better stead for a Six Nations call-up, particularly given the difficulty of the opening assignment in Dublin.

Hendy, however, could find that Furbank’s misfortune leaves the coast clear both for club and country if Borthwick is open-minded.