The England centurion on where his obsession with rugby began
England fly-half George Ford reached 100 caps over the Summer on tour to Argentina and has recently fought his way into being Steve Borthwick’s first choice 10 thanks to form at Sale Sharks.
The 32-year-old has proven consistent for over a decade in the England shirt and is now ahead of Fin Smith and Marcus Smith in the pecking order, starting for England against Australia in their recent Autumn Test victory and
Ford is known as a real student of the game, with many tipping him to be a future head coach. He is also from strong rugby stock with both his dad Mike and brother Joe involved in the professional game.
Rugby World spoke to George Ford ahead of the Autumn about his first rugby memories and where it all began…
Rugby Firsts with George Ford
What’s the first pro match you went to? Sale v Leicester. Appropriate I guess since I ended up playing for both clubs. It was at Sale’s old Edgeley Park ground in Stockport, the first season they moved there in 2003-04. There were 10,500 there, the conditions were terrible and it was a 3-3 draw!
Read more: George Ford’s dream backline
Your first rugby hero? Paul Sculthorpe. An all-round brilliant rugby league player. He was Man of Steel in 2001 and 2002 and part of a fantastic St Helens team.
England enter the pitch during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between England and Fiji (Getty Images)
What were the first rugby boots you owned? Puma Kings. They were black with a white flash down the side and a white tongue.
First rugby shirt? It was a St Helens rugby league shirt – a thing of red-and-white beauty. I was seven and they were the dominant force in Super League back then. They won it three times in four seasons.
Related: Union v League; What is the difference?
Your first senior match? That was for Leicester at Leeds in 2009, in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. I was 16 (making him the youngest player to make his pro debut in England). It was during the autumn Internationals, so we had a load of our top players missing, including Toby Flood.
Richard Cockerill (then Tigers’ director of rugby) gave me the full 80 minutes at Headingley. We lost (28-17) but it was a great day for the family because my older brother Joe was playing stand-off for Leeds.
Joe Ford of Leeds and George Ford of Leicester pose after the LV Anglo Welsh Cup match between Leeds Carnegie and Leicester Tigers (Getty Images)
And your first Test match for England? It was against Wales in 2014 at Twickenham and we beat them 29-18 to win the Triple Crown. I came on with Lee Dickson for the last 90 seconds. I touched the ball twice – one pass, one kick – but it still felt so special. I started my first Test six months later.
The song you did after winning your first cap? Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison. I absolutely destroyed it.
Related: Ten things to know about Ford
Your first yellow card? As a 19-year-old for Leicester against Gloucester in 2012. I threw a bad pass, tried to clear up the mess and got yellow-carded for not rolling away. I was only playing because Floody pulled out sick on the morning of the match. Fortunately, I kicked a couple of penalties when I got back on and we won the game.
First ‘wow’ moment? The opening game of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It was under the lights against Fiji and Twickenham felt electric. It hit home how big a home World Cup was.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rugbyworld.com
