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England outcast George Ford to make first start for Sale Sharks

By Ian Cameron
(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

England outcast George Ford will make his long-awaited debut for Sale Sharks this weekend in a Premiership Rugby Cup pool clash against Bristol Bears.

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Ford, who returned to Leicester in 2017, left Welford Road a second time in 2022 to join the Alex Sanderson-coached side, having previously joined Bath in 2013.

Despite the news that he had signed for Sale coming back in 2021, Ford is yet to play a minute for the club due to injury. The 30-year-old, capped by England on 84 occasions, signed a three-year deal, which kicked off this season but he’s yet to kick a competitive ball in the colours of Sale at the AJ Bell or anywhere else for that matter.

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Ford will make his bow along with Jason Woodward starting for the first time and Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen, who is returning from injury.

Ford, who has been out with an achilles injury for 7 months, will start at fly-half, while club veteran Will Cliff is on the bench after his own injury. The Sharks must win by 29 points or more to secure a home semi-final.

The front-row consists of experienced players, including England’s Bevan Rodd and Oosthuizen, with Tommy Taylor. Ben Bamber, Alex Groves, Ewan Murphy, captain Sam Dugdale, and Rouban Birch make up the all-Sharks academy back-row.

Ford will play alongside scrum-half Raffi Quirke, both of whom are England internationals. Sam Hill and Tom Curtis are in the centers, with Elliot Gourlay and Tom Roebuck on the wings and Woodward at full-back.

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The bench includes a blend of young and experienced players, with Harry Thompson, Tumy Onasanya, and Joe Jones as front row cover. Dom Barrow and Will Riley will cover the rest of the forwards, and the backs replacements are Cliff, Ryan Mills, and Joe Bedlow.

SALE SHARKS: 15. Jason Woodward, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Tom Curtis, 12. Sam Hill, 11. Elliot Gourlay, 10. George Ford, 9. Raffi Quirke; 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Coenie Oosthuizen, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Alex Groves, 6. Ewan Murphy, 7. Sam Dugdale ©, 8. Rouban Birch

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Harry Thompson, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. Joe Jones, 19. Dom Barrow, 20. Will Riley, 21. Will Cliff, 22. Ryan Mills, 23. Joe Bedlow.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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