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George Ford's form finally acknowledged with award
By Jon Newcombe
He may not be considered good enough for the British and Irish Lions, but George Ford continues to put his best foot forward for play-off chasing Sale Sharks and that form has resulted in him being named as the Gallagher Premiership’s Player of the Month for April.
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The 99-cap England fly-half, who was overlooked by Lions boss Andy Farrell for this summer’s tour to Australia, received 36% of the public poll ahead of Northampton Saints scrum-half Alex Mitchell and Leicester Tigers duo Adam Radwan and Jack van Poortvliet.
After 16 rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Ford has steered the Sharks into the upper echelons of the league table. The 32-year-old put on a vintage display in a destructive away win over Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop in Round 14, with the playmaker leading his side to a vital win in the hunt for a play-off spot.
The England fly-half then scored 15 points in a dominant home victory over top-four rivals Saracens in Round 15, including finishing off a stunning team try in front of the Sale faithful at the Salford Community Stadium.
The Premiership Player of the Month winners so far this season:
September – Max Malins (Bristol Bears)
October – Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears)
December – Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
January – Santi Carreras (Gloucester Rugby)
March – Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby)
April – George Ford (Sale Sharks)
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Well done george.
It must he heartbreaking to know you weren’t considered good enough for three lions tours but there are still people out there who see you as a fine 10 .Unfortunately, not the ones who matter.
England tour awaits instead .
And his 100th England cap.
Yet getting picked for the last tour and not being good enough to play the test series is better?
Didn’t he just get to punt a few conversions in the mid-week game last tour?
He is, in my opinion, still the best 10 in the Premiership. Perhaps Finn Smith is slowly starting to take that title off him but Ford still has plenty to show!
Ford is for me too. Top class player. Level of consistency comfortably puts him above others.
Marcus will be warming the bench for the Lions and carrying the mascot. England need to win a test series in the summer to build ranking PTS for the RWC draw.
Ford is very much England’s gain.
its definitely between those two!
I reckon:
1 - Fin Smith
2 - Ford
3 - Russell
4 - Pollard
5 - Burke
6 - Marcus Smith
Obviously Ford’s lack of tackling is ignored.
Is there a single fly-half in the current game that stands out for tackling?!
He may not be a dominant tackler but he’s a good one. I think a couple years ago I actually read he had a better tackle completion percentage than Farrell.
Of course, Farrell rarely if ever wraps so that makes perfect sense 😂
his defence isn’t that bad. He was the best player in the prem last month.
That’s three times Ford has been player of the month since Marcus Smith’s sole win.