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'I'm sorry, George Ford’s time is up as an England player'
By Liam Heagney
Former England out-half Andy Goode believes it is time for Steve Borthwick to end the international career of George Ford, despite him recently being one of the 17 players awarded an enhanced elite player squad contract by the RFU.
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The 31-year-old has failed to best use his experience when featuring off the bench in the recent losses versus Australia and New Zealand. Ford, who had little or no form coming into the Autumn Nations Series due to an early-season injury with Sale in the Gallagher Premiership, was sent on as a replacement on two successive Saturdays at Allianz Stadium.
However, rather than getting his team over the line after taking over at out-half from Marcus Smith, he instead produced error-ridden cameos that left England beaten 42-37 by Australia and 24-22 by New Zealand.
Ford’s introduction against the Wallabies resulted in Smith switching to full-back where he was left defensively exposed, while he was taken off and missed the final part of the loss versus the All Blacks.
Goode now wants Borthwick to stop using Ford, while he has also called for better coaching from the head coach and his assistants heading into this Saturday’s third outing of the November series, the Twickenham encounter with the world champion Springboks.
“I want to go hard enough but I don’t want to go so hard. There were positive signs from England at times,” began Goode on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod, his weekly podcast with Jim Hamilton, the former Scotland second row.
“The big thing, and I’ll say it now, the crowd reaction, George Ford gets his tracksuit off and he is stood on the side of the pitch and this is how I think Steve is out of touch a little bit with the game, what he goes on, his stats and A plus B equals C but sometimes it doesn’t.
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“He is bringing George Ford on at 65 minutes and the whole crowd is booing and that is a sign of everyone has been talking about you have got to leave Marcus Smith on at 10. At this point we are chasing the game a bit and Marcus Smith at 10, he creates two or three tries and then you move him to full-back and bring George Ford on.
“I’m sorry, George Ford’s time is up as an England player. I don’t think he should be in the squad. He hasn’t played enough rugby this year to earn the right. Fin Smith at Northampton has played exceptionally well.
“Like, last week you are bringing George Ford on to close out the game and this is a Steve issue and a George Ford issue. This week, with five minutes to go, we have ourselves in a (winning) position because (Alex) Dombrandt chucked that ball across and (Ollie) Sleightholme scores in the corner.
“We are two points up, winning 30-28 with five minutes to go, have a lineout just around the halfway line, George Ford is now at 10, Marcus Smith is at full-back, so George Ford is calling the shots and they have gone to a three-pass play off a driving lineout which (Andrew) Kellaway ends up intercepting.
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“Now, I have looked at the play loads and George Ford gets the ball out the back. He throws the ball behind Ollie Lawrence and if you look defensively, (Joseph) Suaalii has stepped so far, the ball is to Sleightholme out the back and we are three versus one around the edge.
“When you are talking about game management, you are talking about experience and you are talking about 75 minutes into the game, you are two points up and you have got a lineout in and around the halfway line – that is an awful play to call at that point by George Ford.
“You box kick and say, ‘There you are’. Best-case scenario is you [Australia] have caught a ball in your 22 with a mark because the kick is too long or something and play out from there, and then you back yourself to defend around the 22.”
With Richard Wigglesworth now promoted to senior assistant coach with responsibility for attack and Joe El-Abd involved as the new defence coach while the soon-to-depart Felix Jones remotely works out his notice, Goode was adamant that the struggling Borthwick, whose current record is six losses in the last matches, needs a more experienced coach to help him.
“I don’t think they are coached well enough by this coaching group and I don’t like what Steve said after the game around the players didn’t run the lines that they had trained and they have gone away from the game plan,” reckoned Goode.
“That has got to sit with the coaches. They have not drummed it hard enough into them or that is an excuse. You have got players that play very well at club level – are we thinking the Prem is way better than it actually is?
“Well, these players at times after 20 minutes, there wasn’t a great deal of structure to England’s attack. That is what I can’t understand. You have had so much time together and structurally there was a lot of one-out runners; we rely on bits of magic from Marcus Smith to score us tries and then the deceive from Dombrandt towards the end.
“But our attack doesn’t look well organised and that has got to sit with the coaches, and Steve’s decision to bring George Ford on sits with the coaches. I’m not calling for Steve’s head, I’m not saying he should he sacked or anything like that, but if we lose to South Africa by a decent score and then we lose to Japan and Eddie Jones, then you have got to sack Steve.
“At the minute there is a lot of positive shoots around how we are playing but it could be so much better. He needs an experienced coach around him to help him and that is an RFU issue as much as it’s perhaps Steve Borthwick not wanting that as an issue as well.”
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Don't be sorry George, it was Marcus Smith who gave up the match winning try this weekend. You're in good company!
No it’s not over
He’s still a very good player but they do need to try Fin Smith as back up
More alarming is Henry Slade
He’s personally offering very little and is becoming a liability
I’ve also noticed how teams (maybe coincidentally) have targeted Genge on defence
Or has Genge been put in bad positions? But anyway he seems to walk a lot for what appears to be a big fit guy
Hooker is another major issue for England
I’m Not sure how long George can carry on and hmmmm re Dan
I’d put Freeman at centre with Lawrence
I’d have Hassell Collins or Murley on the wing
Ollie Thorley another great winger
Waboso is of course out
Finnnnnn
I know you are hiding.
What do you make of ford now ?????
Smith not up to it eh .
Hamble pie what!!!
England lost on Saturday in large part because they kept trying to run it from their own half. Replacing Smith with a more cautious game-managing 10 would have paid dividends.
Everyone keeps talking about how Smith was the only player who looked good on Saturday, which demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the role of a fly-half. A fly-half is supposed to make those around him look good. Smith doesn't do that, because he isn't a very good fly-half.
Ford looks to me like he is out of form, so maybe he's not a viable option right now to start, but we'll never win anything with Smith.
I agree with Goodey 95% of time, well, this is one of those 5% of cases, and an extreme version of it.
It’s utter horse. Ford has been injured long term, and isn’t in an international game shape and frame of mind yet. Obviously, he should have been given a handful of club games before being thrown into test level rugby again.
But to suggest, that one of the game’s best game controlling 10s should be discarded, when English fly half depth with any significant test experience stands at ONE (Ford excluded) is beyond preposterous.
Ford has a handful of international years in him yet, and will be an elite club level player to his late thirties, as his game is not built around strength, speed, acceleration, or any of the other attributes, that athletes lose first with age.
Ford was reckoned to be fit and play against the all blacks. Apparently , although we all miss it, he is adept at closing games out .
Just when can ANYONE remember ford playing well. I mean really well .
His very poor last 2 games just show what bad judgment the coaches had by bringing him on .
He has hardly played all year .
He lacks heart in the tackle and if you look at his amble back to try to recover from his dreadful pass to lawrence , well , I think he needs a kick up the derriere.
He won't make the next world cup or onto the lions tour, again .
Why isn't Fin Smith being tried now .
Its just too leicestercentric .
Borthwick is afraid of pushing too far so, at the death, sticks with steady old George just in case.
Pathetic .
Hopefully Borthwick will have heard the boos when Ford came on .
We can't all be wrong .
Ford was phenomenal at the 2023 RWC. England weren’t winning that group game against Argentina without him. Lawes and Ford snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Yes, he hasn’t played well in those two games. But some of those claims going around here are absurd. When on form, Ford is one of the best game-controlling 10s in the world, second perhaps only to Pollard.
For clarification, I’m not an England fan, and not a George Ford/Sale fan either. Just trying to be objective face to face with hysterical claims.
Ford is 31yo, he’s going to be good for years to come.
Yes, he shouldn’t have been played, he should have been given club time to get himself back to form and game flow.
But to say he should be discarded from the national team is hysterically absurd.
Balls. What a ridiculous statement. I’m no George Ford fan - but until there is a settled number two to Marcus Smith, George Ford’s not done.
Yes, this makes more sense. But to say Ford’s time is up - because of Borthwick and co. Poor player management.
This was the perfect time to play someone other than Ford. Opportunity missed.
Andy Goode is banging the wrong drum as usual. Ford isn’t the issue. The England coaches are and they should all go.
Fin Smith was out of his depth this year on the tour to New Zealand. He was one of the players I had in the 'burdened' category Nick Bishop reported about last month though (he played some of the highest minutes of any English player), so it could have been purnout why he was so poor.
Agreed. Ford has a lot of experience and shouldn't be retired, he's a good player but he's out of match practice and to throw him on for a ten who's playing well in the dying minutes of the game is stupid AF. This is Borthwick's fault, not Ford's. Ford shouldn't be in the match day 23 at the moment but to put him out to pasture is just a silly knee jerk reaction. He deserves better than being made a scapegoat.