Given that Castres’ last visit to the Franklin’s Gardens ended in a 38-8 defeat before Christmas, you’d be forgiven for putting a broader, more red-tinged spin on Saturday night’s Investec Champions Cup quarter-final. Northampton, after all, are laden with British and Irish Lions hopefuls; Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, and Alex Mitchell chief among them.
Dare we add 20-year-old Henry Pollock to that list? Or even full-back George Furbank, playing in his first game since breaking his arm back in December?
Saturday night featured a Castres line-up which closer resembled a first choice XV than that cold winter evening. All Black Jack Goodhue was in the centres, while scrumhalf Jeremy Fernandez’s work off the tee temporarily kept his side in the contest. Round two of this fixture was initially a much tighter affair before Saints pulled away in the second half, 51-16 the final margin.
A more competitive contest, featuring niggle and yellow cards aplenty, may well stand to those being considered by Lions boss Andy Farrell. Anyone watching his Ireland side in recent years knows the English coach values how players respond to adversity more than anything else.
The initial plaudits go to Furbank, arguably the man with the most to do after missing the Six Nations. An injury to George Hendy saw the England full-back, right arm heavily bandaged, summoned from the bench after just four minutes. His first touch was to take a deft pass from Smith and break into the 22. On seven minutes, his sensational one-handed offload, thrown just before being tackled into touch, sent Freeman in for the opening score. This after the Saints wing had already burned past a defender in the build-up.
Furbank added a second assist when his grubber was ...
