George Ford: 'The feeling is more relief than happiness'
Leicester stand-in captain George Ford spoke of his relief after the Tigers survived a frenetic battle at Kingston Park to edge a 27-22 victory against Gallagher Premiership bottom club Newcastle.
Leading the side in the absence of the suspended Tom Youngs, Ford saw the visitors hang on for a vital win which eased their own relegation fears and added to Newcastle’s.
Ford admitted: “Clearly, the result is the most important thing for us at the moment. The feeling is more relief than happiness.
“I’m really proud of the boys. It’s such a tough game to come up here and I’m really proud they were able to see it through.
“Obviously, at the end, it could have gone either way and we’re not kidding ourselves. The forwards got us out of a tough end in terms of stopping them scoring and getting the result.
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“We raced away into a 13-0 lead and then let them back into it. When we stick to our stuff and execute we are a good team but we really need to do it consistently.
“Nothing changes really because in two week’s time we’ve got to beat Bristol, but winning this one means there is a better vibe in the changing room and it gives us confidence and momentum.
“There has been a lot of talk about where we are in the league and relegation but it’s a not a word that has come into our vocabulary or in meetings. We’ve always said there is 20 points available from the last five games and we’ve got four of them tonight.
“We’re looking to get better and improve. Once you start looking behind you, you tend to get caught in it even more.
“Newcastle were never going to stop coming at us and I said to the forwards what they did at the end of the game was totally inspiring.
“They kept getting up off the ground and going again and the fight they showed for each other is sometimes what gets you the result and that’s what happened when we got the penalty at the end.”
Newcastle, who lost out on a losing bonus point in a controversial TMO decision last week, probably feel the same with regard to Leicester’s final try by Guy Thompson which was also decided by the TMO.
They were also on the wrong end of some questionable decisions by referee Wayne Barnes close to the end of the match.
Guy Thompson scored two tries for Leicester with Jonny May getting the other and Ford kicked five goals.
Tane Takulua also got two tries for Newcastle and kicked three goals, with the home side’s other try coming from Chris Harris.
Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards was pleased with the way his side responded after a slow start.
He said: “The first 20 minutes they were all over us and controlling the territory but from there on in it was us who controlled everything.
“But we could not get over the line as much as we would have liked and the interception try cost us a bit of momentum. Then we clawed it back and we probably should have won it.
“There were a number of decisions at the end and Leicester have some wily characters in Genge and Cole and we probably didn’t get the rub of the green from a scrummaging point of view because we weren’t allowed to scrummage against them.
“Towards the end, we probably should have nicked it but accuracy cost us again and we have to look at that.
“Another try at the end there would have given us three points or possibly four or five, but I’ve said all along it will come down to the last game of the season.
“We dominated the game for the final 60 minutes and it was just a question of us getting across the line. The three tries we scored were lovely tries and were an example of that but we have to learn how to do it every time.
“We are in control of our own destiny and we’re not going to be reliant on anyone else’s results. There is still a long way to go yet in this season.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played 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.
5 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.
4 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 comments