Pressure on Ford to keep Carnegie moving
JOE FORD admits that it will take a huge effort from Yorkshire Carnegie to beat London Irish and give him a winning sendoff.
The Leicester-bound flyhalf has hit a rich vein of form from the kicking tee in the play-offs, nailing all 11 of his attempts at goal against Ealing Trailfinders, to put Carnegie through to their first-ever final.
The 26-year-old is the Championship’s leading point scorer with 214 points, and will need to be at his very best in the first leg – his final home game at Headingley – if Carnegie are to stand any chance of defying the long odds against them winning promotion. Ford told The Rugby
Paper: “With it being two legs every point is going to be crucial so we’ll have to have shots from everywhere and hopefully I can get more than I miss.
“If you look at Bristol a couple of years ago, they consistently went for tries and it cost them, so we’ve learnt from that and hopefully I can keep knocking them over.”
Carnegie matched Irish in the physical stakes on the Exiles’ last visit to Headingley, a 20-14 win for the fallen Premiership outfit on March 3.
However, they struggled at scrum time in the home and away semi-final ties against Ealing.
“We’ll probably have to go up a couple of levels from the second leg especially if we are to have any chance,” Ford said.
“I’m not an expert on the scrum but we’ve got good players and good coaches and I’d back them to get it right.”
Fourteen points from the boot of Ford helped Carnegie beat Newcastle in the 2012/13 play-off semi-final, before the tabletopping Falcons turned it around against the fourthplaced side to sneak through on aggregate, 34-30.
“I think this Irish team is better than Newcastle were to be honest, they are very well coached and stick to the game plan so it is going to be an even bigger challenge,” he added.
“Irish have been the best team by some distance, so it is going to take a massive effort to get close to them.
“We’re just trying to win this first game, we haven’t talked about promotion and what it can lead to.
“But the way the league is set up, it gives us a great chance this time. You can’t see anyone getting close to Bristol next year.”
While Ford’s move to Leicester has yet to be officially confirmed, it is common knowledge within the game he will be linking up with brother George at Welford Road.
It will be the third time that Ford senior has said his Headingley farewells to join a Premiership club, having left for Northampton and Sale in past spells at the Leeds-based club.
“I have really enjoyed working with Jimmy (Lowes) and playing every week.
“The lads have been brilliant as well. The goal is to go up so it’s not finished yet.