Not so long ago they were kicking a ball around after school in the streets of the Hertfordshire town of Harpenden but this weekend George Ford and Owen Farrell will start side by side at Twickenham. It will be the first time the 21-year-old Ford has been picked to start a Test at fly-half and a fresh chapter in the history of English rugby is about to begin.
As well as nudging out Farrell to inside-centre, Ford will take over the goal-kicking duties against Samoa, with Stuart Lancaster inviting him to stake his claim to be the starting 10 at next year’s Rugby World Cup on home soil. “Playing them both is something we wanted to look at and now is the time to do it,” the coach said. “This is George’s chance to put his marker down to be the number one 10 in the country.”
Ever since Ford was voted the IRB’s world junior player of the year in 2011 there has been a sense of inevitability he would start a Test one day. Even Farrell, who lived next door as a kid and used to ask Ford to do his French homework to increase the time the pair had available to practise their rugby, always knew the moment would come, if not quite how it has turned out.
It was Farrell’s under-par display in last weekend’s 31-28 defeat against South Africa that has opened the door for his long-time friend, who made little attempt to disguise his delight at getting the nod.
“I’m really proud to be starting my first game for England at Twickenham,” said Ford, who made his professional debut at 16. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for me at 10.”
Both players are sons of former Wigan and Great Britain rugby league players but Lancaster went out of his way to make clear that Andy Farrell, England’s backs coach, has never had the final say over whether his son plays for England. “To suggest he in anyway would influence selection is completely wrong,” Lancaster said.
The coach is hopeful the childhood friends will increase England’s tactical options behind the scrum after defeats to the All Blacks and the Springboks. “These two are lads who have grown up together. We’re not talking about two strangers meeting on a rugby field. They’ve played age-grade rugby together and played in a junior World Cup final. It’s not a new relationship.”
He is also backing Ford to improve the team’s attacking game. “It’s about learning whether George can run the game from 10, kick the goals and feel the pressure. You can’t go into a World Cup with only one guy having played at 10. I don’t want to put any labels on him but, as a team, I think we should be excited about the young players coming through.”
