Furbank scores twice as Northampton beat Leicester to reach Prem final
Furbank’s farewell double and Litchfield’s hat-trick carried Northampton past Leicester 45-31, turning a derby into a statement of title intent.
George Furbank signed off at Franklin’s Gardens with the kind of performance that turns a semifinal into a marker of legacy. In a high-quality East Midlands derby, Northampton Saints beat Leicester Tigers 45-31 on Friday, June 12, 2026, and the result sent them into the Premiership final at Allianz Stadium next week.
The scoreline told only part of the story. Northampton led 26-19 at half-time, with Tom Litchfield completing a first-half hat-trick that kept Saints in control as Leicester stayed within reach. Furbank then added two tries of his own in his final home appearance for Northampton, the second of them described by local reports as the moment that effectively settled the contest. Leicester answered through Hanro Liebenberg, Freddie Steward and Ollie Hassell-Collins, who crossed twice, while Billy Searle added points from the tee.
For Northampton, the victory carried more weight than progression alone. Leicester had beaten Saints 41-17 at Welford Road on May 9, a bruising league defeat that underlined how fierce the rivalry had become. Northampton had also beaten Leicester 32-26 in an earlier home league match this season, when Anthony Belleau’s late two-try burst decided a sold-out game at Franklin’s Gardens. The semifinal, then, was not an isolated result but the latest swing in a season-long duel between two clubs separated by little and driven by old Midlands pride.
That is what made Furbank’s farewell so resonant. His second try did not just widen the gap on the scoreboard; it captured the mood of a Saints side that has learned how to absorb pressure, answer setbacks and deliver when the stakes sharpen. Litchfield’s hat-trick gave Northampton the cutting edge, but Furbank’s two scores gave the night its emotional centre, with his final home game doubling as a proof of status for a side now 80 minutes from a title. On a charged evening in Northampton, Saints did more than win a semifinal. They showed they can carry rivalry, pressure and expectation into the championship match itself.
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