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Mike Ford believes his sacking has affected the form of his England fly-half son George
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Ford was booed after missing six of his seven kicks at goal in Sunday’s 27-13 victory over Wales at Twickenham
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The fly-half was supported by head coach Eddie Jones after the match
Former Bath head coach Mike Ford has revealed he believes his sacking has affected the form of his son George Ford after his poor performance against Wales on Sunday.
“George is a strong kid and has achieved quite a lot in his short career so far and you forget how young they are, these kids, and also the affect of my sacking on him,” Mike Ford told The Telegraph.
“We are unbelievably tight and close and it affects him that I got sacked. He doesn’t want that, he is like every child whose dad loses his job but, with George, he has then got to go out and play for England.
“It affects your life and he took it badly, like we all did. We talked about it and I told him he would be all right, just go out and train well.
“But the thing about him — and there have been times when he has missed kicks at Bath — is that it never affects his performance.
“He doesn’t shrink away from things, he keeps getting ball on the front foot and keeps trying things. He is pretty courageous.
“It has been a long season for them all and there is fatigue but I have no doubt that he will bounce back. He has done it many times in his career.”
“You want your son to do really well and, when he misses a kick, it affects you. But he will bounce back. He has started 19 games and England have won 17 out of the 19 games. People soon forget.
“George’s greatest thing at the minute is the way he brings other people into the game — JJ [Jonathan Joseph] and Anthony [Watson] will vouch for that and Luther [Burrell] on Sunday.”