{"id":162947,"date":"2025-06-06T12:38:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T12:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/162947\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T12:38:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T12:38:09","slug":"ive-got-nothing-to-prove-george-ford-on-inspiring-sale-and-why-99-england-caps-are-not-enough-premiership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/162947\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019ve got nothing to prove\u2019: George Ford on inspiring Sale and why 99 England caps are not enough | Premiership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Should Leicester fail to reach this year\u2019s Premiership<\/a> final they will have been floored by a familiar foe. George Ford spent two spells totalling nine years at Welford Road and made his Tigers first-team debut as a 16-year-old. It says everything about his enduring desire and dedication that, aged 32 and clad in the blue of Sale Sharks, his tactical decision-making grows sharper by the year.<\/p>\n

Whether he is kicking teams to death or slicing them apart with his deft short passing game, the GF menu of fly-half skills remains rich and varied. His fellow squad members all regard him as a coach in waiting, so good is he at steering them around the field and managing pressure situations. When Michael Cheika, Leicester\u2019s head coach, expressed bafflement at Ford\u2019s omission from this year\u2019s British and Irish Lions squad<\/a>, he was by no means alone.<\/p>\n

The only missing elements, arguably, have been more end-of-season trophies and greater public appreciation. Having been named world junior player of the year in 2011, Ford has subsequently had to jostle with the ultra-competitive Owen Farrell, the mercurial Marcus Smith and, latterly, the fast-rising Fin Smith. If the coming weeks yield a century of England caps \u2013 he is on 99 \u2013 and a first Premiership title for Sale<\/a> since 2006 it would be due reward for his playmaking and perseverance.<\/p>\n

Sitting in a London hotel lobby, all dressed up for this week\u2019s Premiership awards, what comes across is his absolute determination to keep pushing himself. In theory it would be easy to nudge a single in Argentina next month<\/a>, raise his bat and retreat to his northern pavilion to spend more time with his young family. In reality the cricketing metaphor doesn\u2019t really fit \u2013 \u201cI\u2019ve never got to 99. Maybe nine trying to get to 10 \u2026\u201d \u2013 and there is still fire in his trim, tuxedo-ed belly.<\/p>\n

Not for him, for example, a lucrative ticket to some over-hyped breakaway league that would prevent him from representing his country. Ford, a strong candidate to captain England against the Pumas in the absence of Maro Itoje et al, is still driven by more traditional ambitions. \u201cFor me the most privileged thing, the biggest honour, is playing for England. It always has been ever since I was a kid. I don\u2019t think anything would make that change.<\/p>\n

Ford in action against Harlequins last year, when his four penalties sealed a 12-11 win for Sale. Photograph: Nigel French\/PA<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just can\u2019t replicate the feeling. You\u2019re representing your country in the biggest Test matches with the best players, in front of your family who\u2019ve made a lot of sacrifices to help you get there. When you add all that into the mix that\u2019s the ultimate.\u201d While he would love to see Owen Farrell return to the Premiership \u2013 \u201cto have him back would be great, wouldn\u2019t it? Any league Owen Farrell is playing in can only benefit\u201d \u2013 relocating to French club rugby was never his personal preference. \u201cWe know as players that if you don\u2019t play in England you can\u2019t play for England. To make that call, it\u2019s got to be a good reason. If you still think you are good enough and then to call your own time on that \u2026 yeah, it would be significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also catapulting him from his bed every morning is the shared bond of the collective. While he likes the idea of fly-halves maturing like a fine wine \u2013 \u201cthat\u2019s a nicer way of putting it than I usually get\u201d \u2013 he is much more interested in communal satisfaction than individual glory. \u201cThe game is changing a little but this is the ultimate team game we\u2019re playing. I want the team I\u2019m playing in to be successful and to create a memory. That\u2019s my biggest motivation. You crave that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back at his career, it is also possible to detect a hint of unfinished business on the eve of this year\u2019s potentially gripping semi-final. Ford may have featured in five previous Premiership finals but three were defeats. Even his two triumphs, both for Leicester, were not exactly from central casting. In 2013 he was a replacement in a final<\/a> best remembered for Dylan Hartley\u2019s red card and in 2022 he departed injured in the first half, leaving Freddie Burns to seize the headlines<\/a> with his dramatic late drop-goal.<\/p>\n

Ford kicks a drop-goal during England\u2019s World Cup pool victory against Argentina in 2023. He scored all the team\u2019s points in a 27-10 win. Photograph: Paul Harding\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nor has he toured with the Lions, which is why missing out again this time would have stung. Typically, though, he has resisted the temptation \u201cto have a little sulk\u201d and focused on what he can control. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t really affect the way you are as a person. Even though you\u2019re disappointed and gutted it certainly shouldn\u2019t change the way you prepare every week and turn up to training. That\u2019s what I pride myself on: how consistent I can be whether I get selected or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next eight days could yet offer some solace, particularly if Leicester<\/a> and their World Cup-winning Springbok pivot Handr\u00e9 Pollard can be overcome. Ford, though, won\u2019t be particularly relying on his local East Midlands knowledge. \u201cI suppose it does bring back memories but it\u2019s weird. You\u2019re that focused on the game you don\u2019t take them into consideration that much. It\u2019s: \u2018Right, let\u2019s get the job done today.\u2019 It\u2019s quite a ruthless way of thinking but that\u2019s what we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n

The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n

Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n

Experience has also taught him that, on the biggest days, the secret is to stay calm and keep things simple. \u201cKnockout games are different, aren\u2019t they? Everyone knows what\u2019s riding on it. But ironically it\u2019s not about big things or special things. It\u2019s about how consistently well you can do the basics. Good things and special things will then come off that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is more to Ford, though, than just an expert tactical brain. His wife, Atdhetare, left war-torn Kosovo as a refugee for a new life in Oldham and the couple now have a 15-month daughter, Alarnia. A visit to his wife\u2019s homeland further opened his eyes to life beyond the touchline. \u201cI went over for the first time last summer and loved it. Their family home is basically just a massive farm \u2013 middle of the field, no phone signal, best thing ever. I was even doing a bit of farming. I was like, \u2018What\u2019s going on here?\u2019 It couldn\u2019t be any further away from rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching, though, will definitely claim him one day \u2013 \u201cI think I\u2019d love it, I just don\u2019t want it to be too soon\u201d \u2013 as it already has his father, Mike, and brothers Joe and Jacob. \u201cYou can\u2019t go to a family event without dissecting a game. My mum hates it.\u201d For the time being, though, there remain on-field targets beyond his impending century. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be a case of getting to 100 and thinking \u2018That\u2019s it now, I can rest on my laurels\u2019. It would be special and I\u2019d be proud but it wouldn\u2019t be me finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still believe \u2013 and I probably won\u2019t ever not \u2013 that I can still play at the very top level. From a physical and mental point of view I have a massive desire to do that. I\u2019ve nothing to prove to anyone specifically, it\u2019s just about trying to influence the team I\u2019m playing in, whether that\u2019s Sale or England.\u201d And if that means disappointing the Tigers\u2019 faithful who once roared him on, so be it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Should Leicester fail to reach this year\u2019s Premiership final they will have been floored by a familiar foe.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[4151,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-162947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114636462708425581","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}