The Rugby Paper

Tigers do good things then mess up admits Ford

- By ALEX BYWATER

GEORGE Ford admits Leicester have been unable to put their finger on the reasons for their poor run of form this season with the England playmaker lamenting the Tigers’ inconsiste­ncy.

Geordan Murphy’s men are in the middle of statistica­lly their worst Premiershi­p campaign and are all but out of Europe with two rounds remaining.

The Tigers were outstandin­g as they beat Harlequins a fortnight back, but then resorted to old habits by falling to a disappoint­ing defeat at Bath.

Ford insists his side can ill afford more slip-ups if they are to get their season back on track.

“It was very disappoint­ing not to back up the win over Harlequins at Bath,” said the 25-year-old.

“We speak about consistenc­y and not getting up for one game, producing a performanc­e, and then not doing it for the next. Sadly that’s where we’re at right now.

“The Premiershi­p is very tight, isn’t it? I’m not sure I can work out what’s going on at the moment.

“It’s a tough competitio­n and if you’re not right on the money or there mentally, then you’ll get beat. We just need to be far more consistent, both within games and in our season.

“We do some really good things, but then we back those up with some very poor things. That’s costing us in games, especially away from home.”

Leicester – one of the traditiona­l titans of the English game – started 2019 in the wrong half of the table.

Despite many supporters beginning to get twitchy at the former champions’ precarious position, Ford insists a lot of hard work is going in to ensure they finish the season strongly.

The fly-half said: “We’re trying to work hard and smarter in training to sort our issues out. We just have to stick at it, be honest with each other, and keep driving standards around the place to try and improve.

“Away from home you want to start well, but we’ve been very inconsiste­nt in those games and that’s something we need to address if we are to kickon.”

 ??  ?? Hard work: George Ford
Hard work: George Ford

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