George Ford enjoying the regime of Eddie Jones
Thursday 3 March 2016 23:22, UK
Eddie Jones has had a whirlwind start to his tenure as England coach. Three wins from three games, a self-imposed media ban, and the selection of a captain who missed the World Cup after head-butting a current England team-mate.
It's unpredictable and a far cry from the measured Stuart Lancaster, but even if it's refreshing, it's easy to see why his actions have been met with trepidation by some of the Twickenham faithful.
However, those concerns aren't shared by fly-half George Ford. The Bath man is enjoying life with live-wire Jones at the helm, with particular appreciation for how frank the Australian is with his players.
"He fills the lads with great confidence," Ford told Sky Sports. "He wants to play the game in an attacking style. He wants to go at teams and a lot of the lads have responded brilliantly to that.
"He's very honest with feedback he gives you on what you need to do in a game and what he expects of you, but he also makes the weeks and days of training very enjoyable at the same time.
"Within rugby you're always going to get on with some people more than you do with others, but to have that relationship and to respect your team-mate and want to go out there and win, and do as well as you can for every single team-mate, is important to me."
"I think the honesty has made a huge difference because you understand where you stand, you understand what you need to do, what you need to get better at, and you can go away and work at it."
Jones' frankness is rooted in his desire to improve his current stock. Soon after arriving in England he swept through the country to watch a host of Premiership matches, and his comments upon assembling his first England squad was that England simply lacked world-class players.
The key, Jones said, was helping his players understand their own potential to help them become world class.
"That's all a player wants," said Ford. "Some honest feedback on their game and what they can do to get better."
One aspect on which Jones will be continually judged - largely against his wishes - is England's style of play. After the Lancaster era of pragmatism, there was hope that Jones would introduce a free-flowing game to Twickenham.
The Australian has moved to temper the expectation of the England fans, with reminders of how much time he's had with the team and how important the basics are, and the latter is a sentiment shared by Ford.
"A lot of people are saying that we're playing a lot more expansive and free but we're under no illusions that the foundations of our game have got to come first.
"That, first and foremost, comes from having a strong set-piece and dominance there. I think the boys in the forwards have done great with the lineout and scrum.
"On top of that, looking after the breakdown as well in terms of attack and trying to get quick ball.
"From there you can go at teams and hopefully put teams under a bit of pressure and trouble, and score some tries."
Spearheading the front-foot attack will be Ford and his backline troops, and the 22-year-old is grateful to have a familiar face next to him.
During the latter stages of Lancaster's time there was plenty of debate around who should start at fly-half between Ford and Owen Farrell. Rather than separating the two, Jones has opted to play both, utilising the play-makers in the 10 and 12 positions - and it's a combination Ford is enjoying.
"We've only played three full games together; I think there's more to come. It's great to have that similar mind-set as a 10 outside of you on the pitch.
"We pretty much think about the game similarly, we want to drive the team in a particular way and to have the conversations with him and have someone like him outside you as a 10 is great, so we're looking forward to carrying that on."
In a recent Real Madrid press conference, footballer Christiano Ronaldo rubbished the idea that players need to be on good terms with each other in order to play well together, but Ford says the understanding he has with Farrell and the rest of his England team-mates is vital to him.
"It always helps if you're good mates and you have a good relationship with all your team-mates, to be honest.
"Within rugby you're always going to get on with some people more than you do with others, but to have that relationship and to respect your team-mate and want to go out there and win, and do as well as you can for every single team-mate, is important to me."
Ford's belief is that the player relationships have been strengthened by the honesty of Jones, and that individuals have become more supportive of their jersey rivals in the wake of transparent feedback.
One example of the healthy competition for a starting place is the one between Danny Care and Ben Youngs. Both are looking to cement their place in the No 9 jersey, but Ford says their mutual respect for one another benefits the pair.
"Both are brilliant. They're threats themselves; they know when to speed the game up and when to slow it down a little bit.
"They're really good mates as well, they get on really well.
"Obviously they're both very ambitious and determined and want to start, but they fully respect when one or the other is starting and back him 100 per cent."
Throughout the Six Nations, Jones has maintained that he wants to be judged on the team's results in three years' time rather that this year, giving himself a window to bring about the changes necessary to turn England into a world-beating team.
For Ford and the rest of the England squad there is no reminder needed of how patient they need to be in order to stake their claim as the best in the game, there is an understanding that those changes will take time.
"As players we take each session to try and become a better player, we don't really focus on anything too far in the future.
"We just want to focus on the here and now and understand the areas of our games we need to work on.
"Wherever that takes us in the future, it takes us, but we just want to train as well as we can and look to get better every day."
England Rugby Union players George Ford, Elliot Daly and Dan Cole were appearing at Oldfield Old Boys RFC, Bath as a part of the NatWest RugbyForce, an initiative that supports grassroots rugby. Register at www.englandrugby.com/natwestrugbyforce
