Finally, after a season of trying and even longer thinking about it, Stuart Lancaster has announced a side with George Ford and Owen Farrell starting alongside each other. In the saga of England's troublesome midfield, it is the latest attempt by the coach to give England's backs a bit of ambition and fluency but in fact he is merely repeating an exercise first conducted when Ford was aged 15 and Farrell 16.
Last spring, when Ford joined Farrell in the dying moments of the Six Nations in Rome, Lancaster must have glimpsed a rosy future when Ford put his captain Chris Robshaw away for the last of England's tries. It was an exercise which certainly would have been given more time in New Zealand last summer had surgeons not found five holes in Ford's shoulder ligaments.
Then again the two alongside each other provided a cameo against the All Blacks, something Lancaster says he would have tried against the Springboks last weekend but for Farrell cramping up just as Ford was leaving the replacements’ bench.
Will it work again? Hunter was left with mixed feelings but others have no doubt Ford can do the job. Notably two of his Bath team-mates, Dave Attwood, who plays alongside Ford on Saturday, and Peter Stringer, the 98-times capped Ireland scrumhalf who has had a ringside seat since moving to the Rec two season's ago. Both are particularly impressed by Ford's communication skills.
Packet of fags
“If you looked at him in the street you’d ID him for a packet of fags but to hear him speak in a meeting and command everyone on the field, you’d think he was a 35-year-old veteran,” Attwood says. “He is exceptionally good at communicating on the field and he’s not afraid to put you in your place regardless of how senior you are.”
Stringer says he was impressed from the moment he met the then 19-year-old Ford, who had made the difficult decision to switch from Leicester – where he was understudying for the England outhalf Toby Flood – and move to the club where his father Mike was coaching and soon to be head coach.
"I was in a similar situation when I first came on the scene with Munster. I was behind a pack with guys like [Anthony] Foley, [David] Wallace and [Peter] Clohessy. You have no option other than to assert yourself, because if you're quiet they simply will not respect you as a player."
With Munster and Ireland, Stringer played most of his rugby inside Ronan O’Gara and sees similarities between Ford and the outhalf who played for Ireland 128 times, as well as three times for the Lions.
Quite similar
“They are quite similar,” Stringer says. “Their ability to read the game and do the right thing at the right time is massive. George’s ability to play flat on the gain line is something I like personally. It’s what I had with Ronan over the years, the way he was willing to attack [it]. And George is so good at pulling guys out of the line. Then he shows and goes. It’s what he has, he’s really quick and not afraid to carry the ball.”
Lancaster has made changes elsewhere with scrumhalf Danny Care and number eight Billy Vunipola axed from the match squad and Ben Youngs and Ben Morgan starting on Saturday. James Haskell, who has been in great form for Wasps, replaces Tom Wood at blindside flanker, with Rob Webber in at hooker for Dylan Hartley.
France manager Philippe Saint-Andre has made four changes for the match against Argentina. Maxime Mermoz replaces Alexandre Dumoulin at centre, lock Sebastien Vahaamahina will start at the expense of Yoann Maestri, while Benjamin Kayser and Xavier Chiocci replace hooker Guilhem Guirado and prop Alexandre Menini. – Guardian Service
