'It would make it a lot easier if I didn't agree with the decisions and I could hold a grudge... but I can't say anything bad'

Jamal Ford-Robinson has given the fledgling Chris Boyd era at Northampton his seal of approval – even though the Kiwi decided he didn’t want the prop on the Saints roster for 2019/20.

The 2017 member of the England squad that toured Argentina has exited Franklin’s Gardens holding no grudges against the coach whose decision left him seeking out pastures new at Gloucester.

“As a player who got released from Saints without that being my plan, it would probably make it a lot easier for me if I didn’t agree with the decisions Chris had made and I could hold a grudge, but one of the things that has come from being a bit older is seeing things from a different perspective,” explained Ford-Robinson in an interview with the Northampton Chronicle.

“I can’t say anything bad about the club and I would have made exactly the same decision they made. I spoke to Chris at one of our end-of-season socials and said the same thing to him.

“I like to think we’ve got a good relationship and it’s great to see the young boys like Alex (Mitchell), Lewis (Ludlam) and Teimana (Harrison) getting some recognition. The club is in great hands.”

Saints farewell interview: Jamal Ford-Robinson https://t.co/bS21K2SaPk pic.twitter.com/qJkDMBSAcL

— Northampton Sport (@chronsport) July 3, 2019

Now 25, Ford-Robinson is exiting after a two-season stint at Saints where he feels he didn’t consistently showcase his best rugby. “I don’t think I even came close really because although I racked up a few games, they were normally off the bench,” he said.

“In the second year, I was unlucky with injury early on and when I came back, the ship was starting to settle and you can’t really ask for any changes when that happens.

“If the same coaching team had been around in the second year they’d have known what I did in the first year – I played more than 20 games – but the coaches changed and then I got my injury, so you got the worst of two worlds in terms of being able to prove yourself.

“If you’re a big dog walking around with loads of England caps, the coaches know what you’re about but when you’re in a position where you need to break through and prove yourself and you can’t start doing that, you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“I picked up what seemed like a nothing injury during a wrestling session and there didn’t seem to be an incident that happened. I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, my knee’s gone’, it just started to swell up later in the day and I had scans, which showed I’d done my knee cartilage.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxFX2LLpDDx/

“It kept me out until September, October time and my comeback game was up at Newcastle in the A League and that set it off, which kept me out until Christmas time.

“The time I came back was when they were getting the scrum sorted and you can’t ask the coaches to mess with something that’s not broken. If I was in Chris’ position, I’d have made exactly the same calls all the way.”

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