The Sanderson theory on why George Ford still has his England critics

Alex Sanderson has shared his thoughts on why some people still can’t see the good in the on-song George Ford as the England out-half.

The recently-turned 31-year-old finished out the Guinness Six Nations with excellent performances versus Ireland and France which were capped by deft handling in the move for the 75th minute Tommy Freeman try in Lyon which he then converted with aplomb from the touchline.

It was the first time since 2017 that Ford had started all five matches in a single Six Nations campaign for his country.

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Beyond 80 wrap up this year’s Six Nations, as Ireland came out on top yet again. Watch the full episode exclusively on RugbyPass TV

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He is now back in Manchester ahead of this weekend’s resumption of the Gallagher Premiership and after his wife gave birth on Tuesday to their new daughter, he is pencilled in for a meeting on Friday where Sanderson plans on asking the No10 how he manages to shrug off the persistent criticism he gets with England.

Asked by RugbyPass to explain why Ford continues to have his detractors despite playing so well for Steve Borthwick’s team, Sanderson said: “You can say the same about Owen Farrell, his predecessor, couldn’t you?

England take the lead with less than five minutes left 🙌#GuinnessM6N #FRAENG pic.twitter.com/J39vI3cyKm

— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 16, 2024

“Because he is of a higher standard and at fly-half you open yourself up to more criticism because you have more opportunities to win, lose, influence a game. For every eight people out there, there is a couple who are critics.

“The majority if you were to say George Ford is a good player, his contribution over the World Cup and certainly over the Six Nations, most people would say, yeah, he has been brilliant but there is going to be the haters, the naysayers. It’s difficult to know because I am biased and one-eyed about the man.”

Does Sanderson ever talk to Ford about how he handled the negativity? “I’m actually going to talk to him about it on Friday. Yeah he does, he talks about committing and believing quite a lot, he talks about the emotional consistency because that’s what we need as a group right now, that’s what he had in that last kick as we know.

“He talks about how you hold yourself, how you prepare but more importantly how as a leader that leads into how you play. So how you hold yourself in and around here at the start of the week by ways of being intentional with his energy and his communication, how he is consistently brilliant in terms of his preparation.

“Like, he is one of the most professional people I know, and there are loads of little things that he does by way of journalling, the reviews that he puts himself in for, the preparation which is consistent so that he is always ready to go on matchday.

“That has been a learned craft over 15 years, He has been professional since 16, was one of the earliest professionals on the game. He joined Leicester at 16. But I am going to ask him again on Friday and I want him to contribute on that because I’m still learning myself and we are as a group.”

Earlier at the weekly Sale Sharks media briefing ahead of this Sunday’s league trip to Bath, Sanderson explained that Manu Tulagi had told him how England had changed tactics to rev up their Six Nations.

“From my understanding, as a team they shifted that attitude and energy by way of how they wanted to attack. They were a team that were relatively predictable in how they climbed their way up the field through box kicks and the like.

"I have a bottle of wine in the car, I'm off to his house after this to level, to chat with him…"

– Alex Sanderson will catch up with Manu Tuilagi on Wednesday evening after he decided to leave Sale for Bayonne, with Liam Heagney 🎙️ #GallagherPrem #TOP14 #EnglandRugby #rugby pic.twitter.com/pelJd6gq1A

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 20, 2024

“They wanted to bring variety into the game, get the ball in George’s hands more, and then pick the best space whether it be through the hand or off the foot.

“From what I understand George was influential. He still hasn’t been in. He is coming in. He has just had a little daughter on Tuesday, so we have given him a day off. But this is what Manu talked about at the start of the week, they just shifted the focus into getting back and being ready to strike.

“On the back of that, you can pick your option. You can go to foot, you can play through and it just re-energised the team and he [Ford] spearheaded that.

“It was touch and go at the start, whether it was him or Marcus (Smith) or Fin (Smith). All our conversations were, ‘Finally now, maybe I can get a run at the helm’. Over the Six Nations, you saw an increased influence in his game.

“Also, he found his kicking boots again because he hasn’t really been on point since he had his injury. We know that, yet that last kick, under that pressure, shows the person he is.

“It’s not even a talent because even the most talented of people under that kind of pressure buckle and I was made up for him – and made up for us – that he has found his form.”