Smith so happy to see 'classy operator' Furbank back in action for Saints

Furbank came off the bench after just four minutes in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final against Castres due to an injury to George Hendy.

It was the first time Furbank had played since suffering a broken arm in the win against Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria back in December.

But the England star looked like he'd never been away as he delivered a superb showing, which included try assists, a try of his own and even a try-saving tackle.

And Saints and England fly-half Smith said: “He's a real classy operator, isn't he?

“After however long out, to come on and play like he did, he sees space for guys around him and he's just a real calming presence.

“To put you in my shoes at 10, to have another playmaker that sees space whether that be frontline to hit tight or to move the ball to the edges, it's so valuable.

“It's almost like he can just sit in the back of the car and tell me what to do and I'll drive it.

“I thought he was class and he'll only get better, which is exciting.”

Saints took the game away from Castres during the second half last Friday, refusing to panic after the French team cut their lead to just four points early in the second period.

“It's about reverting back to what we know,” Smith said.

“I felt like we threw loads at them and created loads of opportunities and if we were just a bit tidier around the breakdown or some edges then the general feeling among the group was that the tide was going to turn.

“Although it was pretty cagey going into half-time at 20-13, we felt like the tide would turn and the energy and tempo we put into the game would take its toll on their big boys.

“And it felt like at about 55 minutes, we got a couple of tries and felt like we'd got them over the line at that point.”

The 51-16 success against Castres set up another Dublin date for Saints as they will be travelling to the Aviva Stadium to take on Leinster in the semi-final on Saturday, May 3.

It is one of the toughest tasks in European rugby as the Irish giants have won both of their matches in the Champions Cup knockout stages without conceding a point, scoring 114 in the process.

But Smith insists he and his team-mates, who must now navigate Gallagher Premiership games against Newcastle Falcons and Bristol Bears in the next two weeks, will travel to Dublin with no fear.

“We've obviously got a few games between now and then,” he said.

“We were all sat at home (last Friday, when Leinster beat Glasgow 52-0) thinking 'how do you stop this lot?' because they ask so many questions and when you let them get into their flow, it just looks unstoppable at times.

“But we're going to go there and ruffle some feathers, hopefully put them off their flow and then hopefully they start asking questions of each other a little bit.

“The pressure at the breakdown is going to go up a notch.

“I thought we were okay at that area against Castres but we could have been a lot sharper because Castres got a lot of joy on the floor, especially in the first half an hour.

“We'll really look to tighten that area up and then ultimately it's about doing what we do and backing it.

“If you go to Dublin against that team and wait and see what they're going to do, you've almost lost already.”

Saints were beaten 20-17 by Leinster in the semi-final at Croke Park last season.

Phil Dowson's men made a nervy start and gave themselves a mountain to climb, but they came on strong late on and threatened to snatch an incredible victory.

“I'd be the first to admit the intensity they brought hit us in the face and probably shocked us a bit,” Smith said.

“It's a proper Test match energy, pressuring us everywhere, whether that be with the line-speed of their defence or going after every breakdown.

“I'd like to think after we've faced that once, we know what's going to come and hopefully it's not going to shock us, but saying that is one thing, doing it is another so we'll see what happens.”