“I'm sure Warren has watched every single game closely and it will be no different tomorrow” – Ford on Sexton Lions battle

George Ford of England trains ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match against Ireland. (Photo by Adam Davy - Pool/Getty Images)

David Kelly Twitter Email

March 20 2021 10:01 AM

It is only a few months since George Ford likened the possession of a rugby ball to a “ticking time-bomb”, such seemed the eagerness with which sides kicked the leather off the pill during the torpid Autumn Nations Cup.

And yet in Dublin this weekend, as Eddie Jones’ side seek to continue their handsome run of recent form against Ireland, the ball may have again become a play-thing of gloriously innocent youthfulness once more.

On the back of one of the most thrilling, expressive championship encounters in some time, England have returned to a semblance of the form that did for the All Blacks at the 2019 World Cup.

So mindful are they of that vigorous return to health, they have dismissively talked down today’s challenge as if it were a re-run of a 1970’s kick and rush affair.

They are preparing for the fiendish Irish to remove the ball from anyone’s hands and instead fire it as high in the air as humanly possible.

And yet speaking to the ever-thoughtful Ford on the eve of his fascinating duel with counterpart Johnny Sexton, the out-half seeks to temper his own camp’s rush to myopic judgement.

Firstly, by casting his own side in a different light and then by shining a new one on the opposition.

Although Eddie Jones would never admit to it, England do kick more than Ireland; Ford chooses last week as a surprising illustration.

“The key at test level is doing it at the right time and having the balance of the game,” he says.

“There was a lot of talk about our attack against France and had our mindset changed. But we kicked the ball as many times and even further than we had in the last three or four games. It is always a balance.

“Even in autumn, my first thought was to run. I know a lot has been made of that phrase, ticking time bomb, but it’s about having a feel of the game.

“Where you have the ball in or around the half-way line. Are you going somewhere, have you got momentum. Are you able to break this team down with the ball in hand. Or is their defence getting on top, maybe leading to an error or a penalty?

“So the feel is to put an attacking kick in, put pressure on them and to get the ball back in a better attacking position than them.

“It’s not about kicking the ball away because we don’t want it or use it or shift it, of course we do. If you ask any player in the world, that’s what they want to do.”

Even the French adopt the maxim “chez eux” (“their house”) as they too have been kicking more strategically in order to express themselves in the right area of the field.

Ireland have struggled notoriously, in many facets, but Ford, who operated under Andy Farrell and attack coach Mike Catt, is keen to distance himself from some colleagues who have trotted on patronising, pithy comments all week.

“They have got some brilliant attacking players who understand the right time to keep ball in hand, and they understand where the space is. That makes them a very dangerous team.

“I have worked with Mike in and around the 2015 World Cup and that’s the way he sees the game, he’s very attack minded and wants to challenge teams with ball in hand.

“I think they have threats in every area. We don’t have a clue, ultimately – we might have a good idea of how the game might go, but we don’t have a clue until we are in the heat of the moment.”

What always helps England now, and conversely limits Ireland, is the advantage of having two obvious play-makers, with son of Andy Farrell – Owen – a Lions out-half operating as a second five-eighth in the best Kiwi tradition.

“If you look at someone like Owen playing 12, he very much thinks and plays like a fly-half,” agrees Ford, who wins his 77th cap tomorrow, a handsome achievement for one so often under-valued in his homeland.

“The understanding of getting the ball to space is a massive help for me on the inside of him, and I’d hope I’m a massive help for him.

“Sometimes you do need to be tough and play through them. Sometimes you need to shift first to play through them.”

Ford’s instinct is true to the game’s spirit.

“I always think run first. I base my decision off speed of ball, momentum, and is it on to run? Is it on to keep the ball in hand? Is it on to try and pressure the opposition by getting the ball to space. That’s always my first decision.”

The hope is that his joust with Sexton in front of the watching Lions coach Warren Gatland will run and run too and with ball in hand as much as ball to boot.

“There are things that are coming in the near future and I'm sure Warren has watched every single game closely and it will be no different tomorrow.

“But in the forefront of our minds is how well can we play to get that win. Johnny is a massive part of the way they play.

“He’s a good leader being captain and a lot of what they do well goes through Johnny. It is something we’re aware of. We have to stop the momentum of the Irish game so he doesn’t have as many opportunities to do that, make good decisions both sides of the ball.

“It is not about targeting him in isolation. It’s the whole thing. Himself and Conor Murray are brilliant players so that will be a great challenge for us.”

And hopefully explosive rugby will have positive connotations.

Online Editors