"He's on track" – Steve Borthwick issues injury updates on George Furbank and George Martin
Today at 11:03 AM
England head coach Steve Borthwick has issued two positive injury updates, regarding George Furbank and George Martin. The double update took place after England’s win over Scotland in the third round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, with Borthwick hopeful to have both East Midlanders back contending for places, as we head towards the last two rounds of the competition.
The England team have now entered their second of two fallow weeks, with no matches scheduled in the Men’s Six Nations this weekend. England have a fortnight to prepare for their next fixture, as Steve Borthwick’s side will host Italy at the Allianz Stadium, for the fourth round clash on Sunday March 9th. George Furbank has not yet featured for England in the competition, as the Northampton Saints man suffered a broken arm back in December.
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George Martin was initially named on the bench for England’s Calcutta Cup win over Scotland, yet a knee injury removed the Leicester Tigers lock from the fold on Thursday. Borthwick gave an update on how the two Georges are fairing in the recovery wards.
“Furbs’ (George Furbank) arm is healing well. It’s going to be very, very tight to play in the championship given he’s not played. But he’s on track healing-wise. George Martin, obviously I picked him and thought he’d be right today, in the end after Thursday he wasn’t. But, all being well, everything should be right for the last part of the Championship.”
Even without the aforementioned injuries to Furbank and Martin, and with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso set for an extended stint on the sidelines with shoulder surgery, England were able to get the job done against Scotland. Steve Borthwick’s side scraped past Gregor Townsend’s men in a 16-15 nail-biter, with Finn Russell’s missed conversion in the closing moments costing Scotland the match. Whilst it was by no means a pretty win, Borthwick was happy to chalk up a ‘W’, in a match he described as a real ‘arm wrestle’.
“That was a completely different game to one that we played in most recent times – that was a real tactical arm-wrestle in the middle of the pitch. Scotland, historically have done that in these games, where they’ve brought a big, heavy kick-plan, and they’ve got a very good defence that limits line-breaks. It becomes a real challenge.
“What pleased me is that the players found a way to adapt; I’d say Scotland definitely had the ascendancy in the majority of that first half. I’m pleased the team found a way to adapt and found a way to win.”
“For eight years, Gregor has been building this (Scotland) team? Look at how many games they’ve played together, the combinations they have at club together. We’re at a very different stage. But we found, against that team, a way to win again. We were two, three years on average younger than them. I think there’s a makings of a really good team.”
There were questions around the repeated use of the boot from both sides, as the match struggled to kick into gear as a spectacle, as both England and Scotland jostled for position for the most part. Borthwick expressed how he is a keen driver for his side to play attacking rugby with the ball in hand, and explained how he trusted his players to deviate from the game-plan, as Scotland offered a different tactical approach to what England had expected, with an eagerness to go to the boot.
“It’s not necessarily how we wish to play. But there are two teams out there, and I know often in terms of the (media) commentary, everyone talks about one team (England), but we respect there were two teams on the pitch.
“I’ve been very clear that I want the team to play with ball in hand, to attack with it, to be brave, aggressive with the ball. There is another team trying to stop you and they’re pretty good at it. Ultimately they’re strong in defence, strong at the breakdown, and took the game to this kicking game.
“That leads to slow ball, and effectively they’re waiting for you to run the ball against their high double tackles, and then attack the breakdown. You’ve got to be very good and very judicious about when you go, and I thought the players did it well today. It’s not necessarily how we want to play, but there were two teams out there and we found a way to win.”
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