Fit-again Ford is gearing up for a recall
GEORGE FORD has won his race to be fit for England’s showdown with Ireland at Twickenham.
The Leicester fly-half has made a full recovery after missing the emphatic wins over Italy and Georgia with an Achilles problem.
Head coach Eddie Jones names his team for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup game today with Ford pushing hard to either reclaim the playmaking duties from Owen Farrell, forcing England’s captain to move to inside centre, or supplying cover from the bench.
Ford insists he is fighting fit, saying: ‘I feel great, I honestly feel great. It’s the best it’s felt on the field, running around in training, not being aware of it. So I’m happy.’
Forwards coach Matt Proudfoot said: ‘George is looking good, he’s training really hard.
It’s good to have his experience and adaptability in the squad. He’s been training really well.’
A 25-man squad has been retained to finalise preparations for the visit of Andy Farrell’s team to Twickenham. Wasps flanker Jack Willis (pictured) has already been frozen out despite an outstanding tryscoring debut in the 40-0 win over Georgia.
This is not the first time Jones has overlooked a rookie who has performed well and Proudfoot insisted: ‘We’re very pleased with Jack, he’s done very well and is pushing hard and growing. ‘He has a good appetite to learn and has a bright future ahead of him.
‘He did well against Georgia, his first cap produced a try and he performed really well in tough conditions for a loose forward. ‘He really had to dig deep and he did. It was great for a forward to put in a debut like that.’