At least they should be good at penalties!
One prop’s a bouncer, another player drives the cable car but as this Englishman aims to take Germany to the World Cup... in rugby
HIDDEN away on the north bank of the Neckar, where Mike Ford lives in his riverside apartment, is the Thingstatte amphitheatre. It was used for Nazi propaganda rallies before the US Army invaded in 1945 and turned it into a makeshift basketball court. Across the old bridge, on the south bank, is the imposing Heidelberg castle and its cable car which runs up the hillside.
‘One of my props drives that cable car,’ says Ford with a chuckle as he sips his coffee in the old square. ‘My wife’s visiting next week so I’ll get on to him for some free tickets. Me other prop’s a bouncer.’
Not so long ago, Ford was coaching the likes of Francois Louw, Ma’a Nonu and Matt Giteau at Bath and Toulon. Over the summer months, however, he popped up as the new head coach of Germany. His other employers, the Dallas Griffins, have put their launch on hold until 2020 to focus on their NBA franchise, so Ford has been tasked with qualifying for next year’s World Cup.
‘It’s been . . . different!’ says Ford. ‘I’ve been here for a few weeks now and the most players I’ve had at training is 18. It reminds me of when I worked as a newsagent and played for Wigan in the Eighties. The guys need to work. A cable car driver needs to be around to drive the cable car and a bouncer is on the doors until 4am, four nights a week.’
The prize? A place in the same pool as the All Blacks. Germany face a shootout with Hong Kong, Canada and Kenya next month and the winner will be thrown into the group of death. Unlike their national football team, Germany would be minnows at a rugby World Cup. A handful of their players are based around Europe. Fly- half Christopher Hilsenbeck — the penalty-taker — is one of four players in the French Pro D2. Prop Samy Fuchsel has been playing for Saracens A team and forwards Luis Ball, Mark Fairhurst and Anthony Dickinson are all on Rotherham’s books.
‘It’s an exciting challenge, isn’t it?’ he says. ‘We’re the lowest ranked team in the repechage but, yeah, we want to win it. Most of these guys will probably never have another shot at the World Cup.
‘How many teams could the All Blacks put out and still beat Germany? 30? 40? That’s not the point. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to face the best in the world. These guys could tell their grandkids they played
against Sonny Bill Williams . . . or whoever’s in the All Blacks second team!’
It feels like a make-or-break moment for German rugby. Their recent emergence has been funded by billionaire Hans-Peter Wild — but the billionaire Capri Sun owner has stepped back following conflicts with the union.
According to World Rugby’s latest figures, 11,189 players are registered in Germany, compared with 7,859 in Georgia, who are pushing for membership of t he Si x Nations. The Bundesliga is made up of 12 teams and Heidelberger RK qualified f or t hi s year’s European Challenge Cup. Wild invested £30million in a training camp but, with most staff contracts expiring in November, new investment is vital if the benefactor walks away.
‘There’s a lot of politics here,’ says Ford. ‘I hope it gets back to a situation where they have a full-time organisation. Qualifying for the World Cup would get rugby noticed here.’ Ford flies into Frankfurt on Sunday evenings and returns home to Saddleworth every Thursday. He spends his evenings eating out — ‘ Chinese, schnitzel, steak and kidney pie’ — with his colleagues. At the weekends, he tries to get to Leicester Tigers matches to watch his sons, George, the England No 10, and Joe in action. ‘George is back to his best,’ says Ford. ‘He’s had to be a little bit more selfish and that’s brought the best out of him. It’s a massive year for him, isn’t it?’ He keeps close tabs on the Premiership. ‘It looks like a two-horse race between Saracens and Exeter but does that mean the other 10 coaches are bad? No,’ he says. ‘ Club and country have different agendas. Eddie Jones wants to win the World Cup but the club owners are paying the players. In my view, everyone should support England to make sure we have the best national team. That’s where we’ll be judged as a rugby nation.
‘There are 12 clubs or 13 clubs and they all want different things. Some clubs want a European Super League, some want relegation and others don’t. This next TV deal is crucial.’
So does Ford see himself returning to English shores? ‘I do,’ he says. ‘Maybe I’ll stay on here if we make the World Cup. But there’s another project in me.
‘Not necessarily a director of rugby role; my skill set is definitely coaching where you don’t have to deal with the board, the press, budgets, recruitment and all those other things that sap your energy. I want to be able to spend more time with my family.’
For t he t i me being, however, he will make do with a cable car outing with his wife.