Ford out to make sure the joke is on Glasgow
“It’s frustrating as it used to be us who were the top dogs”
Ross Ford has vowed to swing the balance of power back towards Edinburgh by helping his side end Glasgow’s stranglehold on the 1872 Cup.
Hooker Ford is sick and tired of hearing the Glasgow players brag about their ascendancy when they meet on scotland duty and is determined to play his part in an Edinburgh success on Friday at BT Murrayfield.
‘It does get joked about in the scotland camp,’ said Ford. ‘We want to stop that happening by winning by more than 10 points on Friday and getting our hands on the 1872 Cup.’
The scotland stalwart, who let his emotions boil over in the first game when he swung a punch at Warriors captain Al Kellock, admitted that he had grown increasingly frustrated at how Gregor Townsend’s team had become top dogs.
When Ford signed for the capital club from the Border reivers in 2007, i t was Edinburgh who dominated their rivals but the pendulum has swung to the extent that, since 2011, he has finished on the losing side six times — the latest loss coming in the 16-6 reversal at scotstoun last weekend.
‘It is frustrating, as for a number of years we were top dog and had a settled squad at Edinburgh,’ said Ford.
‘Now Glasgow have that and they are doing very well for themselves.
‘It is up to us to turn that around and win at Murrayfield on Friday. I must admit that it does bother me, not being the top team in scotland or performing well in the Pro12 League.
‘As things stand, Glasgow were maybe further down the track than us with their settled squad and coaching set-up.
‘But I feel we have that now, so we must kick on and put in some good performances in big matches like this derby.
‘We also have to look at the big picture. If we can win this game, it gives us impetus going into the New Year and takes us on through to the end of the season.
‘If we can get this performance right, it can give us momentum going forward.’
Kellock looked more surprised than scared at the uncharacteristic loss of discipline from his scotland team-mate but Ford insists he was only swinging at the big Glasgow second row to draw the referee’s attention.
‘I was desperate to win that match and I took a swing at Al as he was holding me off the ball,’ said Ford, who escaped any punishment for his attempted punch.
‘It was my way of trying to draw the referee’s attention to the incident.
‘I didn’t connect because, if I had hit him, I would have got sanctioned and that would have been silly.
‘The best I could do was to make a meal of it and draw the ref ’s attention to what happened. It is maybe not like me to do that, but it is all part of the game.’ There was sympathy for Ford from Kellock’s Glasgow Warriors teammate Jon Welsh, who, at one time, was an amateur boxer.
Although passions will be high at Murrayfield, Welsh expects Glasgow to keep their cool in a bid to complete successive derby wins and keep their hands on the 1872 Cup. ‘Al can handle himself but he had his hands up straight away to defend himself,’ said Welsh.
‘That incident just shows the competitiveness that the game brings out on everyone.
‘I have been caught a few times with punches in the ring when I was boxing but, on the rugby pitch in the professional era, it has never happened.
‘Perhaps, once or twice, when I played for Whitecraigs when I was younger, but the game in those days seemed to be a bit more frantic than now.
‘In the professional game, if you throw a punch, it is bad for the team.
‘If you get a yellow card, your team-mates suffer, so you need to keep your cool.
‘You do not want that to happen as your team can concede points.
‘We lost players to yellow cards in our game against Toulouse recently, so we know it is about being a bit more mature in big games.
‘on the pitch, tempers flare and passions are high but we are all friends off the pitch, especially in these derby matches.
‘However, that is put aside for the 80 minutes. Afterwards, we will have a drink and a chat. All the bad blood gets left on the pitch — but not before then.’