George Ford on the key difference between the RWC squads of Lancaster's failures and Jones' hopefuls
George Ford has revealed the fundamental difference between the England squad heading to the World Cup in Japan under Eddie Jones and the disastrous 2015 campaign that saw the host country fail to make the knockout stages.
That debacle saw the departure of the coaching team headed by Stuart Lancaster and allowed Jones to take over and stamp his own authority on the players as he battled to identify the 31 players who will attempt to replicate the trophy-winning triumph of the 2003 England squad.
Ford believes that four years ago the players were too focussed on making the squad rather than winning the tournament and that has changed under Jones.
Lancaster’s campaign was hampered by the controversy surrounding his decision to include rugby league star Sam Burgess in the final squad at the expense of Northampton’s Luther Burrell. It was a move that proved to be a constant thorn in the management’s side during the tournament where they lost key pool games to Australia and Wales.
Ready to lead England for the second successive game against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, Ford said: “The main thing is that I felt in 2015 the most important thing was getting into the squad to play in the World Cup rather than putting all your focus and energy into being a squad that can go out and win it.
How does it feel to win your first England cap?
Priceless.
Watch the latest full episode of Rising Sons here: https://t.co/lGwWltZciu #WearTheRose ? pic.twitter.com/F5mcBqUNG7
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) August 16, 2019
“In 2015 it was more of an individual thing with wanting to be part of the World Cup whereas now it is a case of we know where we are as a squad, so let’s put all our energy and focus into making sure we are as tight as possible to go out and win the thing.
“It is a bit of a different mindset because you put your energies into being part of a successful England team rather than being part of an England team going to a World Cup.
“There are quite a few of the lads who were involved in 2015 who would agree and Eddie has been consistent in saying that everyone has a role to play within the squad and the value he adds to the squad translates into the performance at the weekend. That is what I am on about because we now know where we are as a squad.”
Good news for England about Mako Vunipola, but less so about uncapped winger Ruaridh McConnochie https://t.co/CWa0CBcphu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 16, 2019
With England opting to take just two scrum-halves to the World Cup, Ford is the emergency option and could even get time in the role – depending on the state of the game – in Cardiff.
He is not fazed by the challenge and believes England forwards would take more notice of his demands if he was issuing them much closer to the action.
Ford at No9 would be just one of the personal challenges Jones wants to set his players and the Leicester outside half understands the reasoning.
He added: “Even when I have trained at No9 in sessions he [Jones] has not come up to me beforehand and said I would be doing a bit of nine. You just have to adapt and that is a good place to be as a player – being able to adapt.
“If you can do a really a good job of it then it can only make you a better player. Also, it allows you an appreciation of what a nine’s job is with me being a 10 and what I expect and want off a scrum-half and then you are in that position. Owen (Farrell) might be demanding, so I had better give him the ball!”
WATCH: George Ford speaking at the England team announcement media conference
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t enjoy drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments