FORD CLEARED FOR ACTION AS ENGLAND PLAN FOR IRISH FURY
GEORGE FORD has won his fitness battle after England declared him ready to face I r el and i n Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup clash at Twickenham.
Ford missed the emphatic victories over Italy and Georgia that opened the end-of-year campaign because of a pre- existing Achilles injury but the Leicester fly-half has made a full recovery.
Head coach Eddie Jones names his team this morning with Ford pushing hard to either reclaim the playmaking duties from Owen Farrell, forcing England’s captain to move to i nside centre, or supplying cover from the bench.
‘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,’ forwards coach Matt Proudfoot said.
A 25- man squad has been retained to finalise preparations for the visit of Andy Farrell’s team to Twickenham with one back and one forward to be jettisoned, unless Jones opts for a six-two split on the bench.
One missing f ace i s Wasps flanker Jack Willis, who delivered an outstanding try-scoring debut against Georgia but has now been frozen out.
Overlooking a rookie who has performed well is a well-trodden path by Jones, who likes to deliver well-timed shots across the bows to keep his players hungry.
‘We’re very pleased with Jack, he’s done very well and is pushing hard and growing,’ Proudfoot said.
‘We want him to be a better player week in, week out and we feel he’s doing that. 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.’
When asked about Willis’s omission, Proudfoot stated that selection is partly shaped by a detailed analysis of the opposition.
‘You look at what you’ve got at your disposal. You look at the challenge. And then you pick the best 23,’ he said.
‘Each guy has got to be pushed during training sessions to show that he’s in the best form and we’re looking at what the opposition presents us.
‘The Irish forwards, especially the l oose f orwards, are very very good. CJ Stander, Peter O’Mahony, Josh Van Der Flier are unbelievable loose forwards.
‘So we’re looking forward to meet that challenge, how best can we nullify that threat of theirs, and we select what we feel i s the best team to counter that threat.’
Meanwihle, England prop Joe Marler has urged any men struggling with mental health issues not to suffer in silence.
The 30- year- old, who has spoken out about his own battles with depression this year, has stressed there is no shame in seeking help.
Marler can identify with the problems experienced by many men in fearing they may be showing weakness by seeking advice.
The Harlequins forward was speaking in his role as an ambassador for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), for whom he features in a new video message to c oi ncide with International Men’s Day.
‘Rugby is the ultimate macho sport, and there is a fear that if you show any sort of weakness publicly then you’re giving free rein to the opposition to take advantage of any weakness,’ Marler said.
‘I always worried that if I was to open up about my mental struggles that it would be used against me by opposition players or seen as a weakness by my own team-mates.’
Marler is seen in the video, which is available on YouTube, delivering what at first appears a standard post-match interview. However, on closer inspection, it r eveals a hidden message, conveying how people can hide their true feelings.
El s e where, New Zealand captain Sam Cane has fired back at critics of the team’s recent performances, his captaincy and coach Ian Foster after they lost their second successive match in the Tri-Nations, and first ever to Argentina, last Saturday.
The All Blacks were beaten 25-15 by the Pumas in Sydney, a week after a 24-22 loss to the Wallabies in Brisbane and were greeted by a cavalcade of criticism f r om r ugby- mad New Zealand.
‘I think we’ve got amazing fans, but we’ve also got some pretty brutal ones,’ Cane told Sky Sports.
‘With that, you’ve just got to remind yourself that, “Hey, they might like to think they know a lot about the game of rugby, but really they don’t”.’