"George Furbank's return" – Northampton 51-16 Castres – Saints Player Ratings from Champions Cup quarter-final
04/12/2025 03:09 PM
Northampton Saints have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup, following a seven-try win over Castres Olimpique. It was a scrappy afternoon at Franklin’s Gardens, with multiple brawls springing up amongst the one-sided try scoring.
Henry Pollock goaded the Castres players with his ‘unique’ try celebrations, as the newly minted England man bagged a brace on the day. Northampton built their try tallies through their England stars, as Tommy Freeman, Curtis Langdon, Alex Coles, Tom Peason and a returning George Furbank all scored in the dominant 51-16 win.
Northampton will face Leinster in the semi-final of the Champions Cup with a tall order in store, as the Dubliners handed Glasgow an emphatic 52-0 thrashing under the Friday night lights.
Scroll down for all the on-field action from Franklin’s Gardens
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS PLAYER RATINGS
15. James Ramm 6.5
Started off the match strong with some carries from the back-field. Plenty of expectations for a strong performance with Furbank on the bench. Incredible turnover at 34 minutes, as Castres launched a counter-attack.
14. Tommy Freeman 7.5
Opened the scoring for Northampton, after breaking past two defenders along the right wing. Impressive offloading back and forth with George Furbank put Freeman in for the first try. Another strong effort from a man that has become a front-runner for the Lions Test jersey.
13. Burger Odendaal 7
Powerful carries combined with soft hands, Odendaal’s all round attack was an excellent addition to the England heavy Saints back-line. Took a heavy hit to the head as he went to break the line. Again no card brandished, with chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” aimed at the referee. Withdrawn for a brief blood replacement, as Rory Hutchinson was called into action.
12. Fraser Dingwall (C) 7
Lost the ball in contact after a series of attacking phases. Got into a scuffle with Louis le Brun at 18 minutes, after a senseless off the ball hit from the Castres halfback. Strong at the breakdown for a 20th minute turnover showcased his leadership for the Saints. A well-rounded performance from a man who will be hoping for a solid run with England this Summer.
11. George Hendy N/A
Dangerous along the left wing in the early goings, with some nice touches keeping the Castres defenders on their toes. Off after three minutes, after a monstrous shot from Vilimoni Botitu caught him high and shook him
10. Fin Smith 8
Pulled the strings from 10 in his usual fashion. No nonsense front up in defence. Excellent place kicking from the England 10 who road some clattering hits that were dubiously timed. Confident to opt for the penalty when Castres held firm, to keep the score-board ticking over. Threw a ice-cold step to break the Castres line, in the lead up to Henry Pollock’s try, and reminded why he is in the conversation for the Lions.
9. Alex Mitchell 9
Set a high attacking tempo for the Saints to build off, that kept the Castres defenders on the back-peddle. Missed the loose-ball pick up as Castres ran into a dangerous position – let off by James Ramm’s stunning turnover.
Picked the right pass for George Furbank’s try, to regain Northampton’s stronghold on the match early in the second half. Earned his second assist as Henry Pollock crossed over for a try. Dutifully awarded Player of the Match for his efforts, and put the other Lions hopeful nines on notice.
1. Emmanuel Iyogun 6.5
The loose-head was a workhorse around the park, with a commendable effort to make tackles, hit rucks and also carry in the loose. It was a well-balanced scrum up against former Harlequin Will Collier, but Iyogun won a penalty scrum penalty at the half hour mark. (Off 55 for Tom West)
2. Curtis Langdon
Added Saints’second try, as he chased down George Furbank’s grubber kick and powered over the line for a try. Recieved some medical attention for a ‘stinger’, but soldiered on mid-way through the first half. Found himself in the middle of another scuffle, after kicking the ball away after Castres had a penalty. (Off 62 for Walker)
3. Trevor Davison 6
Won a solid scrum penalty after 13 minutes, as he got the better of Castres loose-head Quentin Walcker. An impressive battler around the park, with a solid engine that refused to pack in until his shift was over. (Off 55 for Elliot Millar-Mills)
4. Temo Manyanavanua 5
Had a real blunder at 19 minutes, as the lock sent the ball straight into Castres hands. The lock carried well and made some solid hits, yet a dampener on his afternoon was his sin binning for getting involved in a multi-man scrap.
5. Alex Coles 7
Leading the way at the Saints set-piece, the England capped lock was impressive at the line-out and commanded maul effort. The lock rallied his troops for a 32nd minute try, from well worked rolling drive, to immediatly capitalise on Leone Nakarawa’s trip to the sin bin for Castres.
6. Josh Kemeney
Made a nice break to lead the Saints out of danger at 17 minutes, as he broke a couple of tackles. A flying finish along the right touchline at 21 minutes, and road a head to head collision that sent him into touch. Battled on for the remainder, with some heart-on-your-sleeve defending.
7. Henry Pollock 8.5
Awesome early break from the back row got the crowd into a chorus of support. Made a brilliant turnover at 35 minutes, to seal the ball for the Saints. Went looking for a scuffle once the penalty was awarded, with nothing fazing the young man. Winded by a heavy collision at 37 minutes with le Brun, with play stopped for his injuy.
Supplied the support for Mitchell to send him in for a 48th minute try. Took a nasty shot at a ruck from Remy Baget, which started a mass brawl at the Gardens. Pollock’s second try was another solid line-break, with another goading celebration to cap it all off.
8. Juarno Augustus 7
Solid under the high balls as he returned multiple Castres’ exits. Chopped well, with his black scrum cap often seen at the bottom of many breakdowns.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Henry Walker 6
Anchored down the front row as Northampton ran away with the match. Did his job well at the set-piece, to ensure that the Saints held their dominance at the line-out.
17. Tom West 6
On alongside Elliot Millar-Mills as the Saints freshened up their front row. Held his own against the Castres pack and contributed some nice passes to send the spotlighted outside backs into space.
18. Elliot Millar-Mills 6.5
A similar performance to Tom West, as the replacement tight-head was a pillar in Northampton’s latter scrum effort. Did not budge under pressure, despite the underhanded approaches from a frustrated Castres pack.
19. Tom Lockett 5
Hard to give a fair rating, as Lockett only had a seven minute run-out. The match was a foregone conclusion by the time he arrived.
20. Tom Pearson 7
Crossed the try-line for Northampton’s final try at the 78th minute, as the Saints handed Castres an emphatic exit from Europe. Pearson spotted a gap and cantered home. Contributed a real lift to the end-game intensity, as Northampton ran away with the win.
21. Tom James 6
On for eventual player of the match Alex Mitchell, it was always going to be hard for James to stand-out this evening with the job done. Kept the attacking tempo high and carried to the line, with his input accounted for with the late tries.
22. Rory Hutchinson 6
Thrown on early as Burger Odendaal had a blood injury. The Scotsman was a bolt of lightning in the tiring attacking line, with a real sting in his carries at the Castres defenders.
23. George Furbank 7.5
On very early with a welcomed reception back to the pitch. Hendy was seeing stars after Botitiu tackled him high. A stunning offload to Tommy Freeman for the Saint’s opening try.
Stubbed a neat grubber kick through for Langdon to ground for Northampton’s second try. Added a try of his own shortly after half-time, as he exploaded onto Alex Mitchell’s pop pass. Off at 55 minutes, as Odendaal returned from his blood injury.
THE ON-FIELD ACTION
There was an early injury for Northampton, as George Hendy was substituted off after just three minutes. A heavy shot from Castres centre Vilimoni Botitu had question marks around the legality, yet no card brandished from the referee. George Furbank replaced Hendy, as the England fullback made his long awaited return to green, black and gold.
Northampton opened the scoring after just seven minutes, with Furbank immediately involved on the front foot. Saints wing Tommy Freeman beat two defenders along the touch-line, before offloading to Furbank to keep the ball alive. Furbank then returned the ball with an exquisite offload of his own, to return the ball to Freeman for Saints’ first try. Fin Smith’s conversion added the extras with a well-taken strike from out wide.
Castres returned fire with a penalty, as scrum half Jeremy Fernandez slotted a long range effort three minutes later. However, this did not dent Northampton’s swagger, with the Saints back down the other end of Franklin’s Gardens at the quarter-hour mark. Hooker Curtis Langdon was quickest to react, as Furbank stabbed through grubber, and the ball bounced invitingly before the Castres in-goal area.
Fin Smith then kept the score-board ticking over, with a penalty from in front of the posts. Saints should really have taken seven points from their 23rd minute attacking drive, after some questionable decisions denied a try for Josh Kemeny. The Saints flanker was hit into touch, yet the collision was a head-to-head that was eventually penalised. There were plenty of grumbles from a sea of frustrated Saints fans, who were calling for a penalty try after their man was illegally hit into touch.
Castres then grabbed a try, as scrum half Jeremy Fernandez dotted the ball down at the back of a ruck. The French side’s resurgence would not last long, as lock Leone Nakarawa was sin binned for illegal work at the breakdown.
Northampton immediately capitalised on the extra man, with the subsequent penalty sent to touch and Alex Coles grounded the rolling dominant maul. Fernandez would narrow the deficit once more before the break, with a penalty sending the sides into the break at 20-13.
Castres re-started the scoring after the half-time break, with Fernandez adding another penalty through the posts. However, Saints rallied back with a downfield drive, with Alex Mitchell sending Furbank over the whitewash to score off a crash ball.
The England influence continued, as Mitchell linked up with Henry Pollock for a 48th minute, with the back row savouring the score with some pre-try celebrations. This got a lift out of the Saints supporters but also irritated the Castres defenders.
Wing Remy Baget flew into Pollock when the back row was guarded up at a ruck, which earned the Castres man a trip to the sin bin once a sizeable scrap had subsided. Northampton lock Temo Mayanavanua and Castres replacement prop Lois Guerois-Galisson were also sin binned for their involvement in the brawl.
Pollock only stoked the fire with his second try, as he shrugged off two Castres defenders in the in-goal area. Pollock waited for Castres to close him down before finally scoring, and he added a basketball like celebration to cap it all off. The penalty count continued to rise for an irate Castres side, and Fin Smith obliged with a second successful penalty at the 68th minute.
Tom Pearson finished off the scoring with a try in the penultimate minute of the match. The back row cantered home after picking his gap in a crumbled Castres defence, with Fin Smith handing the hammer blow to the French visitors. Northampton are through to the Champions Cup semi-finals once again, with a date set for Dublin against the behemoths of Leinster.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: 51
Tries: 7 (Freeman 7′, Langdon 14′, Coles 32′, Furbank 46′, Pollock 48′, 63′, Pearson 79′)
Conversions: 5 (Smith 7′, 46′, 48′, 63′, 79)
Penalties: 2 (Smith 23′, 68′)
Drop Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 1 (Mayanavanua 53′)
Red Cards: 0
CASTRES OLIMPIQUE: 16
Tries: 1 (Fernandez 26′)
Conversions: 1 (Fernandez 26′)
Penalties: 3 (Fernandez 10′, 39′, 43′)
Drop Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 3 (Nakarawa 31′, Baget 53′, Guerois-Gallisson 53′)
Red Cards: 0
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