‘World-class’ Ford kick-starts Leicester
George Ford secured Leicester’s second win of the season with a late penalty in a scrappy game against defiant Sale.
Ford landed the kick just over 50 metres from the posts with less than five minutes left on the clock.
There was, of course, so much more to Ford’s overall contribution to the game than the last of his five successful shots at goal, but it was a moment to appreciate the 25-yearold’s composure and strength considering his 5ft 7in frame.
Ford, who in the early part of his England career was very much cast as the blue-eyed boy, has faded in the collective conscience of fans and media lately.
Despite often starting at Test level at fly-half inside Owen Farrell, his old school friend has taken more of the plaudits while Danny Cipriani’s prodigal-son tale continues to fascinate, particularly after he took over the England No 10 shirt from Ford in the final Test against South Africa in June, the only one on tour his side won.
Yet despite seeming to pale between the reliability and doggedness of Farrell and the mercurial Cipriani, Ford is still part of the England set-up and, according to head coach Eddie Jones, is very much in the frame to play an important role in the World Cup.
Perhaps it was a bumpy first season back at Leicester last year that caused the buzz around Ford to quieten and criticism grow, and this point was not lost on Tigers’ interim head coach Geordan Murphy. “I kept track of George’s kicking stats last season and he was in the 80 per cents. I think there is a common myth and then the press gets on your case. It is a tough one for him. He is an 80 per cent-plus kicker, he is world-class.”
Ford leads the Premiership charts for most points scored this season with 82. Murphy was keen to emphasise that his contribution is much more than his kicking, and that he has stepped up as the leader of the back line while centre Matt Toomua has been on international duty for Australia.
“He has been brilliant as a leader in the group, he has been doing a huge amount on and off the field and you would expect as much from your international 10,” Murphy said. “He is talking quite a bit, organising. He is very important for us, especially with Matt away.”
Sale outscored Leicester three tries to one, the first coming from a bright burst by wing Marland Yarde early on, with Tigers replying via Kyle Eastmond, a former Bath team-mate of Ford. Sale’s other two tries came in the second half, both off the back of line-out drives, with hooker Rob Webb and his replacement Curtis Langdon scoring in the game’s final moments to secure a losing bonus point.
Steve Diamond, Sale’s director of rugby, praised the way Ford orchestrated his side’s defence as the Sharks tried to apply pressure.
“We could get on top of them in the last 10 minutes, but George Ford controlled the game very well in the last 10 minutes,” he said.
While Ford was metronomic from the kicking tee, the same could not be said of Sale scrum-half Will Cliff, who missed all his attempts at goal.
He is not his side’s usual penalty taker, but Irish-born United States international AJ Mcginty is injured and South African scrum-half Faf de Klerk is away on duty with the Springboks.
Diamond revealed that De Klerk, whose vision has been sorely missed by Sale, will not re-join the South Africa camp for the November internationals so will not be in the frame to play against England.
“We didn’t see the benefit of bringing him back during the break weeks that we’ve got [currently], so he’s playing the six games there [in the Rugby Championship] and then he comes back to us,” Diamond said. “The England game is on a non-release weekend anyhow, that one isn’t it, with the Premiership. It’s a non-irb Clause Nine weekend in my understanding.”
Manu Tuilagi, who missed out on the game and the England training camp last week due to a tight hamstring, was presented with his 100th Leicester cap after the match, having made his milestone appearance last week.
Murphy said Tuilagi would be fit for the East Midlands derby at Twickenham on Saturday, but has not decided whether the centre will be selected or given a rest for a further week.