Jones hails renaissance man Ford
EDDIE JONES has backed fly-half George Ford to achieve the heights which has seen the Bath and England No 10 compared to New Zealand legend Dan Carter.
Ford suffered a startling dip in form at the end of last season as his dad Mike was sacked as Bath head coach. The low point for the 23-year-old was missing six kicks from seven against Wales at Twickenham the week before England’s tour of Australia.
But he showed impressive resolve to play a key role in the historic series triumph Down Under and has maintained that outstanding form for Bath. Now new director of rugby Todd Blackadder — who compared Ford to his former Canterbury Crusaders charge Carter at the start of the season — has begun his reign with three wins from three.
England coach Jones said: ‘George looks like he is very relaxed in that (Bath) environment, he looks as if he understands the game the new coaches have brought in.
‘He has almost seamlessly gone on from the end of the Australia tour, where I thought he was outstanding. It (having Blackadder there) gives him a different point of view. Obviously he enjoyed having his father as coach but having a different point of view will be beneficial for him.’
Ford’s response to being jeered off by England supporters when substituted against Wales was superb. He returned in the first half of the first Test against Australia after initially being named on the bench with Northampton’s Luther Burrell at No 12 and Owen Farrell at No 10.
That was a call Jones admits he got wrong but insists he could use again with Worcester’s Ben Te’o emerging as the most viable ball-carrying No 12 as Manu Tuilagi’s increasingly concerning battle with a long-standing groin injury continues.
Jones added: ‘George is a tough little b****r. He has been brought up in a rugby league family, so he knows how to handle the knocks.
‘It was a difficult time for him last season. His father got sacked at Bath, he got some negative reaction from the crowd, he got some negative media, but he handled it well.
‘I put him on the bench for the first game because tactically I thought we needed to go in with a more physical presence at 10 and 12. As it was, I got that wrong. I made the change and George never looked back.
‘I want to have two options there in the back line so we can go with two 10s at 10 and 12. Or a 10 and a more a combative 12. I always want to have that armoury.’
Tuilagi has yet to start a game under Jones and has missed Leicester’s last two games with ‘groin stiffness’ after a two-year battle with a careerthreatening groin injury.
‘This is a difficult time for him,’ Jones said.