George Ford: Irish domination not a big worry
George Ford isn’t of the belief that the Irish provinces’ domination of their Gallagher Premiership counterparts in Europe will have any bearing when Ireland host England on the opening weekend of the Six Nations early next month.
Leinster, Munster and Ulster have faced English opposition ten times in the Champions Cup this season and won nine of them. None of have been lost with Munster and Exeter Chiefs ending in stalemate at Sandy Park last October.
It is an astonishing record and one that fits in with the recent pattern of Irish domination and English subjugation: not just at club level but on the international scene given Ireland clinched a Grand Slam last season by destroying Eddie Jones’ side in Twickenham.
“I don’t think it plays any part,” said Ford whose Leicester Tigers side lost to Ulster two days ago. “It is not a great stat for the English teams but we will get together as a squad in (camp in) Portugal and prepare as well as we can.
It will be an almighty Test match in Dublin, but it will be completely different to what we have been playing in.
Ford has faced Ireland five times, winning twice and losing the others, and last year’s one-sided contest was very much an abberation in a fixture that has largely been nip and tuck regardless of the victors in recent times.
Ireland won the last two meetings in Dublin, having lost the pair prior to that, and the host’s record in Dublin under Joe Schmidt is enviable: 12 wins on the bounce and no Six Nation side has bettered them at the Aviva since Wales four years ago.
“It is always a contest (in Dublin) and what I mean by a contest is whether from an aerial point of view or on the ground they are always brilliant in those areas,” said Ford who is still just 25 and has won 50 caps for his country.
“You only get one or two opportunities out there to score points and it is vital you take them if you want to get the result. It is going to be a traditional tough test match and hopefully we can do the basics of what we want to do to get the result.”
The stakes are obvious.
A Six Nations campaign is all about momentum and the side that wins at Lansdowne Road will be set fair for a stab at the title. It’s a major ask for England - who showed clear signs of improvement in November - against a side that dismantled the All Blacks that same month.
Ireland have long since shed the mantle of plucky underdogs and the plague of inconsistency. They are a side viewed in an entirely different light now since that win against New Zealand though Ford isn’t sure what that result will have done for their mentality.
“You’d have to ask them. Regardless of that game, they are a brilliant team, especially at home. The last 12-18 months, in the way they have played and the results they have got, speaks for itself. We understand the challenge ahead of us.”
