Go to France and you’re finished with me, warns Eddie
Ford told Toulon switch will end England career
AccorDInG to eddie Jones, there is ‘no choice’ to be made. england’s head coach has rammed home the message that if George Ford opts to go to France, he can say goodbye to his Test career.
reports in the French media yesterday claimed that the fly-half is a prime transfer target for Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal, who recently promoted Mike Ford — George’s father — to the role of head coach at his club. amid lingering uncertainty about George’s future at Bath, there are Gallic rumours he is open to the idea of a move to the cote d’azur.
However, the rFU have enforced a policy against picking overseas- based players for england since 2011 — and it has served a purpose in preventing an exodus across the channel. In response to the speculation about Ford, Jones reiterated his strident support for the union’s stance.
‘I need to speak to George about it,’ Jones said. ‘ obviously we don’t want to lose him but ultimately, he’s got to make a decision about whether he wants to play for england.
‘He’s responsible for his own decision. We want him to play for england. You sign for a French club, you don’t play for england. If he doesn’t want to play for england, so be it.’
asked if he endorsed the rFU’s approach to a subject which has become a global issue, Jones added: ‘I think it’s right. It protects english rugby for the long term. You’ve only got to look at what’s happened in France where you’ve allowed foreign players to escalate to over 50-60 per cent and you have massive problems for the national team. It’s a desire thing. You’ve got to have the desire to want to play for england. If you want to play for england, you play for an english club — it’s simple.’ Jones held up the Kiwi model as a good example of how a restrictive selection policy works, adding: ‘They’re looking out for the future of new Zealand rugby. They’ve got vibrant competition in their ITM cup because they have that rule. If they took away that rule their ITM cup would no longer be a competition because those fringe players would be all over the world playing. Players in new Zealand make the decision about whether they want to play for the all Blacks or not.
‘let’s get one thing straight here: we want to be the no 1 team in the world. To be the no 1 team in the world, we need players who are absolutely desirous to play for england. So there is no choice here. The choice is if you want to play for england or not.’
Jones spent day one of england’s training camp here in the algarve assessing the latest medical bulletins, with Saracens’ in-form prop Mako Vunipola providing the latest untimely scare.
The loosehead’s arrival in Portugal has been delayed and the head coach said: ‘ He’s got a slight hip problem. He’s getting some treatment on it. He should be right to train by Thursday. He’s important. We want Mako to be fit. We’ll see how he comes in.’ courtney lawes joined the casualty list last week, but Jones is not ready to give up hope that the northampton lock can be fit to face South africa in 11 days’ time.
‘He has some bone bruising on his knee,’ Jones said. ‘He looks like a mummy at the moment with taping from his toe to his hip. He is pretty confident he’s going to be right.’
There has also been uncertainty about another leading Saints forward, england captain Dylan Hartley, who Jones claimed yesterday was his ‘ Winston churchill’. The hooker has made two brief appearances for his club since returning from a back injury, but he remains an important figurehead for the national team.
‘Dylan is the captain of the side and when he is fit he is going to play,’ said Jones.
‘They are like an army — you still need a leader. While there are more people making decisions (these days), you still need someone at the front.’
WALES skipper Sam Warburton has been ruled out of Saturday’s Test against australia with a neck injury.
The 28-year- old will return to cardiff Blues to continue his rehabilitation, leaving alun Wyn Jones as favourite to take the captain’s armband and Justin Tipuric in line for the no 7 shirt.
Sportsmail understands liam Williams does not need surgery on his ankle, but is highly unlikely to face the Wallabies.
Shaun edwards added that 18-year-old ospreys winger Keelan Giles, who has scored eight tries in four games and trained with the Wales squad, will play no part at the Principality Stadium.
‘He’s very exciting — in training no one wants to tackle him!’ defence coach edwards said. ‘But we don’t want to rush him.’