History man Ford has no plans to quit
ROSS FORD clearly didn’t want any fuss when it emerged he would become Scotland’s record cap holder against Fiji tomorrow. He didn’t even hang around long enough for a pat on the back in the team room after being selected.
Instead, he was among the first on the bus for a visit to a local school in Suva, where he was mobbed by the children.
Very much the reluctant hero, 33-year-old Ford prefers to treat his 110th appearance as just another game as he prepares to overtake previous record holder Chris Paterson.
‘The record has just crept up on me,’ he said. ‘The boys haven’t made much of it, to be honest, because they know what I’m like. I didn’t want to make a fuss. It’s an honour, of course it is, but I haven’t been thinking about the record a lot.’
Maybe that’s because he isn’t planning to retire any time soon. Paterson never played again for Scotland after winning his 109th cap, but Ford wants to carry on.
‘I feel good and I can go to the next World Cup in Japan in 2019,’ said the Edinburgh hooker. ‘I feel in the shape of my life and, with Fraser Brown around, I’ve had to adapt and keep my standards up.
‘It was a kick in the backside when I spent most of the last Six Nations on the bench, so I knew that I had to up my game again. Reaching the record against Fiji will give me another boost to get better again.’
Fighting it out with Brown for the starting jersey has certainly brought out the best in Ford. He’s turned back the clock on this summer tour, scoring two tries against Italy and coming off the bench to shore up the scrum in the famous victory over Australia.
‘Chris Paterson texted me to say congratulations,’ revealed Ford. ‘He said that it’s harder to stay in the game the older you get. He’s not wrong there. Breaking his record is definitely a massive honour but, looking back now, it’s hard to imagine my first cap was 13 years ago.’
To reach 110 caps in a tough, physical front-row position is a remarkable achievement — and especially when hooker wasn’t even Ford’s first choice of position. He had captained Scotland Under-21s at openside flanker and, as a teenager, played a couple of games there for Border Reivers.
But it was Reivers head coach Tony Gilbert who first insisted he was better suited to hooker. Anton Oliver played for the All Blacks 59 times after making the same switch and fellow Kiwi Gilbert believed Ford could have an equally successful international career.
‘It was Tony Gilbert I have to thank for persuading me to change positions because, if he hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t be here now,’ admitted Ford, who won his first cap against Australia in 2004, just six months after taking Gilbert’s advice.
‘I was doing okay in the back row at the time, but I remember Tony took me into his room and asked how I felt playing at hooker. He asked if I fancied a bash playing at prop, too, but I said: “Nae chance”.
‘He convinced me. He saw the same things in me as he’d seen in Anton Oliver, who he thought I had a similar body shape and skills set as.
‘It certainly wasn’t easy to begin with. I got a shock playing for Border Reivers against Northampton, who had England international Steve Thompson in their side. I didn’t come from a scrum background and I got a real hiding against him, so I had to learn quickly.’
Ford admits many of his Scotland games are now ‘a blur’, and says it’s the friendships he’s made on tour he recalls most.
‘I remember laughing a lot, making a lot of real pals and former team-mates such as Dan Parks being a real film buff and keeping quoting lines from big films to express how he was feeling.
‘If I was pushed, the game I remember most is against Ireland at Croke Park (in the 2010 Six Nations), when Dan put over a penalty from the touchline in the last minute.
‘Other highlights will be the 2012 tour when we came down to Australia, Fiji and Samoa and won all three games. It was such a good tour. The boys got to know each other and had fun off the pitch, and this one is turning out to be similar.
‘Most of the caps I won are a bit of a blur. I remember the first, the 50th, the 100th and, obviously, this one coming up on Saturday. It’s the friendships which I remember more than anything.
‘There have been downsides, like the defeat to England this year and us not winning a game in the 2012 Six Nations, when I was captain. Despite that, it’s always been an honour and a privilege to play for Scotland.’
Gregor Townsend, meanwhile, believes Ford can go on to fulfil his dream of playing on until the next World Cup.
‘His mindset and work rate are absolutely superb,’ said the Scotland head coach.
‘He puts in the work in the gym and the training field, which is the reason why he’s still playing really well after 109 caps. He wants to play for another few years and, judging by the way he’s training and playing at the moment, that could definitely happen.’