Sale in driving seat to sign England ace Ford
ALEX Sanderson has confirmed Sale are in the market for Leicester and England fly-half George Ford and believes they are a ‘strong runner’ to land his signature.
The 28-year-old, currently out of favour with England coach Eddie Jones, is out of contract at Welford Road at the end of season and the Sharks are looking for a replacement for AJ MacGinty, who is moving to Bristol.
Sanderson has spoken to Ford, who yesterday was named Gallagher Premiership Player of the Month for October after spearheading Leicester’s unbeaten start to the season, and is hoping his northern roots can help pave the way for a move to the AJ Bell Stadium for the Oldhamborn star.
Sale will still have Rob Du Preez, as well as Kieran Wilkinson and Tom Curtis, as options at fly-half following the departure of MacGinty but Sanderson is a big admirer of Ford.
“You need someone of international class if you are ever going to challenge and win silverware,” said Sale’s director of rugby.
“George Ford is world class and playing probably the best rugby he’s played for a while.
“I have no intention of counting chickens before they are hatched so I honestly couldn’t tell you what will happen.
“We can only put our best case forward and let the chips fall where they lay but I think we’re a club with aspirations, with investment and with good people involved. I think we’re a strong runner. I’ve had a conversation with George and I thought it went well. I like the lad, I love what he’s about. He’s still very ambitious and is a family man so shows a lot of traits that will ally themselves very well here. But there’s more that comes into play, it’s so complicated, that’s why I can’t call it.”
Meanwhile, Sanderson says he will be fascinated to see how Manu Tuilagi performs on the wing for England in Saturday’s clash with Australia.
The Sale centre’s only previous Test appearance in the position came on tour against New Zealand in 2014 and the experiment was immediately abandoned by Jones’ predecessor as head coach, Stuart Lancaster.
The decision is shaped by Jones’ desire to field Marcus Smith at fly-half and accommodate the return of Owen Farrell at inside centre in a dual playmaker partnership for the Autumn Nations showdown at Twickenham.
“Manu has got zillions of caps and I don’t think he cares where he gets them to be honest,” Sanderson said.
“I’m sure it’s not a case of Manu staying on the wing for the whole game.
“There’s going to be some Eddie Jones-style tactics which will incorporate him as the lead runner or even a dummy runner.
“I think they will use him smartly, particularly with the distributors that they’ve got at 10, 12 and 13.
“That’s going to be quite exciting to watch. I’m really interested to see how it goes. Who knows, he might be playing on the wing for us in the future if it works out.”
Sanderson is even more excited by the call-up of Sale duo Bevan Rodd and Raffi Quirke to the replacements bench on Saturday.
“I am made up for them,” he said. “It’s another sign of what we’re trying to build here.
“We’ve got young lads who are playing out of their skin and knocking on the door for England. I can’t wait to see them get a cap.”