George Ford on life after Owen Farrell and his advice for Marcus Smith
George Ford insisted England were still adjusting to life without Owen Farrell as they forged a new identity under Jamie George.
Farrell ruled himself out of the Guinness Six Nations for mental wellbeing reasons and having agreed to join Racing 92 next season, will then be ineligible for international selection.
For over a decade, Test centurion Farrell has been the dominant figure in English rugby, as well as serving as the national side’s talisman, goalkicker, playmaker-in-chief and captain.
But it will be George who leads out the team in Saturday’s clash with Wales at Twickenham as England continue to rebuild after the 2023 World Cup.
“It is different without him. He has been here for so long,” Ford said.
“He has been such an integral part – he has been our captain, he has been a massive leader for us and he stamps his authority on our team.
“So him not being here, of course it’s different, but there is always a time when things change.
“For us, for me and the other leaders, it’s about not trying to replicate what it was like with him here, but be a bit more authentic. Jamie has done that brilliantly.”
Farrell’s absence – combined with Marcus Smith’s calf injury – provides the opportunity for Ford to cement his latest incarnation as ringmaster.
The 30-year-old Sale Shark has 92 caps, 65 of them starts and regularly formed a playmaking axis alongside Farrell, yet under each of Stuart Lancaster, Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick, he has made way for his long-term friend for critical games.
Most recently, he was demoted after last autumn’s World Cup group match against Argentina despite drop-kicking 14-man England to victory as part of a fly-half masterclass.
While being dropped still hurts, he has learned to roll with the punches in the belief his time will come again.
“I have been through all the emotions – frustrated, disappointed, gutted, angry. It means a lot to you so you are going to have the emotions,” Ford said.
“But what these experiences have done – because it has obviously happened a few times – is allow you to deal with those moments a bit better and stay a little bit neutral about it.
“When I was younger, when you are starting and playing every weekend and then you get dropped, you are rock bottom and it is a rollercoaster ride.
“Whereas now, you still go through the emotions – angry, gutted and all them – but it is about how quickly you can get back to accepting whatever the new role is.
“I always back myself to go out there and keep getting better in case I do get another opportunity. It’s about belief and a consistency.
“Since making my debut for England, the one constant and consistent thing is the debate around who plays number 10 for England. I’m not sure why.
“You become used to the exterior noise. Everyone’s got their opinion on who should play and the way England should play.
“I make all the choices I do to be the best player I can be and do the best job for England. If some people agree – or don’t – on who should be playing for England, for me that’s massively irrelevant.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
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