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41 days after Burgess let rip, George Ford has responded to the stinging allegations
George Ford has refused to hit back at former England teammate Sam Burgess who branded the No10’s father Mike – now an assistant coach at Leicester – a “snake” after the failed 2015 World Cup campaign.
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Burgess headed back to rugby league after England failed to make the knockout stages of the tournament five years ago and he waited until last month to claim that Mike Ford, then in charge of Bath where Burgess was playing, had undermined the England challenge in the hope of moving into Stuart Lancaster’s head coach role.
Burgess also branded George as “sulky” after he had been dropped for the key pool Wales game, a selection that resulted in Burgess coming into the starting XV.
Recalling a post-finals meeting he had with coach Ford, Burgess alleged: “Mike, I don’t trust you. I think you have been playing games behind my back. You have used me as a bit of a pawn in your game of chess, I can’t put my boots on and play for you every week.
“I will never forget his face when I said: ‘I can’t respect you, I think you are a bit of a snake.’ I just felt that people behind the scenes were playing a deeper game. With George, Mike kind of infiltrated the camp; that is my take on it. After me starting against Wales, my relationship with George completely changed. He wouldn’t talk to me, he was a bit sulky.”
A sight that will hurt sore Leicester eyes https://t.co/QKpg9mLeXF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 14, 2020
Despite the damaging nature of these Burgess comments, Ford would not respond when appearing before the media for the first time since the claims. He said on Tuesday 41 days after Burgess had said his piece: “I don’t feel I have to sit here and justify anything really.
“I’m content enough and so are my family – we are a tight family – to not respond. We can’t control what other people think and neither can anyone else control what we do day in day out. I’m not too fussed and not prepared to comment back.”
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When asked if he would try to talk to Burgess about the comments he gave a quick “no” and added: “I don’t feel the need to justify any of the comments that came out. I’m content with how I go about my stuff as a professional rugby player. There is no reason to justify it.”
Ford will have to pull the tactical strings for Tigers when the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership season restarts next month without a host of key players who have left the club due to financial problems.
The No10 eventually sorted out his deal to stay at Welford Road but the talent no longer available to Tigers as they finish out a disappointing season includes Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks), Jonny May (Gloucester), Telusa Veainu (Stade Francais), Jonah Holmes (Dragons), Noel Reid (Agen) and the as yet unattached England centre Kyle Eastmond.
With wing Adam Thompstone also released by the Tigers, that constitutes enough players to form a back division. In response, Tigers have signed Scotland international Matt Scott, utility back Zack Henry and Harry Potter from Australia, along with Nemani Nadolo, the Fijian powerhouse wing, to bolster their options.
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Tuilagi, Veainu, Eastmond, Reid and Greg Bateman all refused to sign new reduced-pay contracts and were stood down by the Tigers, who stand a forlorn eleventh in the Premiership as they prepare for restart the season away to leaders Exeter Chiefs on August 15.
Ford said: “It’s not just Leicester Tigers going through this, every business in the world is. It was a very difficult situation and everyone is going to make mistakes. As a group of players, we stood our ground a little bit but in the end we had some good dialogue with the club and a situation where it could all get sorted.
Manu's goodbye note 😢 https://t.co/uVquXTXlWj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 14, 2020
“Manu is a world-class player and a brilliant guy. He is going to be missed. I was in the academy with him and it is about moving on now. I’m sure he will be very good for Sale but we also have some good guys and the club will have to bring some players in.
“We will recruit and try to replace the guys who have left and we won’t be using anything as an excuse. We have to be better. Nemani is the biggest guy I have ever come across and is already contributing to the environment.
“It has been a testing time for everyone and you lose a sense of reality. It has been good to have a bit of a break to spend a lot more time with family and it is a break mentally and physically and I am excited to get back. “
Meanwhile, Taylor Gough, the 20-year-old Tigers back row, has been in intensive care at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham since being involved in a major road incident in mid-June. Ford admitted the squad are “devastated” about his accident
“He is in hospital and has to be looked after in a particular way. He seems in relatively good spirits and we will give Taylor and his family as much support as possible.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the youngster following his accident 🙏 https://t.co/cn44yaRSLF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 14, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
South Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
2 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
23 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
2 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
23 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to comments