LIONS TAMER
Tigers boss will push Ford and Genge to limit to get them on the Boks tour
Incredible to help my players fulfil their goals
GEORGE FORD can look forward to a Lions leg-up from Steve Borthwick as he seeks to make next summer’s squad for South Africa.
The England stand-off, below, was one of the standout omissions from the last tour to New Zealand as Warren Gatland opted for Owen Farrell, Johnny Sexton and Dan Biggar as his No10s.
But Borthwick, Gatland’s right-hand man on the 2017 tour, is now in Ford’s club corner at Leicester and has made it a mission to put him – and England team-mate Ellis Genge – on the plane.
enjoyment “I take in incredible helping players improve and achieve their goals. I want to help as much as I can,” said Borthwick.
“It would delight me if I saw Ellis Genge and George Ford wearing England shirts and Lions shirts.
“I would also be delighted for their team-mates who help them along that way. I want to help every player achieve their full potential.”
Having stepped down from England in March, Borthwick is unlikely to be in a position to join the Lions himself given his all-embracing duties as the new Leicester head coach.
Borthwick has endured a turbulent start at the fallen giants with the departure of Manu Tuilagi and several team-mates after the imposition of salary cuts but feels the Tigers can rise again without them. “The situation happened, players made decisions, we wish those players well and all the success with whatever they go on to do,” said Borthwick. “Then we recruit and we build a squad that we want. We’ve made some signings, the players we have here are working exceptionally hard to improve themselves and take this team forward and that’s what we continue to do. “I think people are realistic about where this club is right now, they are realistic about the amount of work do, and we’ve about got the to time it will take. “But what they want, and what I want, is a team that will work exceptionally hard, have a togetherness on the field, and ensure that we are fighting for everything we possibly can. I want to be very clear — every day I am working towards winning.” The Premiership resumes in a fortnight with the latest coronavirus results showing five positive Covid-19 tests — four of whom are players — out of a total of 846 tests. ❏EXETER CHIEFS are to keep their nickname and logo — but give their Big Chief mascot the chop. It follows a petition with more than 3,700 signatories, urging the club to follow Washington Redskins’ NFL team in shedding their Native American branding.