Breaking news coming out of the England camp ahead of the second Test against the All Blacks, as George Furbank has been withdrawn from the squad. The Northampton Saints man has suffered a back injury, and will miss out on the season finale at Eden Park.
It is understood that Leicester Tigers fullback Freddie Steward will come into the starting XV, and take up the 15 jersey ahead of the second Test with New Zealand. Furbank has been amongst the top performers for England throughout the Summer, yet suffered a back injury in the first Test match against New Zealand.
Furbank was on the recieving end of a handful of heavy hits, as All Blacks wing Sevu Reece flew into the fullback with some well-timed collisions. Also, Furbank made an assortment of strong carries over the New Zealand defensive line, with England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth confirming that the fullback missed out on England’s training session earlier this week.
“Again on the talk bit, we have to give him some great information whether he stays down whether it goes up (for a high kick). So because those little split seconds he gets out of the tackle, versus getting levelled, how we would deal with the runners coming back.
“You know, those sorts of stuff will all be looked at. I think he’s sore from whacking as well as getting whacked, he did it on both sides of the ball.”
“He carried the ball back hard, yeah, he’s good we just know that there’s a hell of a lot of running in that test match as well as well, as for the fullback taking a fair few good shots.”