FORD RALLIES THE TIGERS
Top of the table but fly half insists they can’t let up on final day
BY ADAM HATHAWAY GEORGE FORD has urged his Leicester tabletoppers not to take their foot off the gas and warned they have not yet ended their trophy drought.
The fly-half was in his first stint in the Midlands in 2013 when Tigers last won the Premiership and is bidding to sign off his second spell there, before heading to Sale, with another title.
A win over Wasps today in the final round of the regular season will guarantee top spot and Leicester already have a home semi-final next
Saturday in the bag. Head coach Steve Borthwick has led a revolution at Welford Road, dragging Leicester from years as also-runs but Ford insists they are not past the winning post.
The 29-year-old said: “It’s one thing getting ourselves into this position but it’s a whole different ball game going to get what we want. You do all the hard work to put yourself in that position but that’s all we’ve done.
“The first four years I was here we had some good seasons, got to the quarterfinals of Europe and got to the Premiership, but from where we have been the last three or four years, the position we have put ourselves in now has been quite a journey.
“It’s been tough in terms of how hard we’ve had to train to turn it around. Winning helps but we’ve tried to improve, win or lose.”
Ford partners Ben Youngs (above right, the England pair celebrate beating Australia in 2016) at halfback as Leicester go full bore after a week off last week following their failure to get past the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
Freddie Steward, Chris
Ashton, Ellis Genge, Dan Cole and Jasper Wiese start against a Wasps side still aiming for a European spot.
Wasps are three points behind eighth-placed London Irish, who occupy the last Champions Cup spot but have completed their fixtures. And three points will do the trick for Lee Blackett’s side, who have won more games than Irish this season.
Jimmy Gopperth, who joins Leicester next season, starts at inside centre in his 156th and final game for Wasps and lock James
Gaskell, off to Japan, also starts. Paolo Odogwu, a potential England summer tourist in Australia, returns on the wing.
Wasps blew their remote chance of a top-four finish when beaten 16-7 at home by Sale a fortnight ago.
Blackett said: “It gets no easier. They’ve not lost a game all year at home in the Premiership. They’re going to be fighting to finish top of the competition, and want to finish high going into the play-offs.”