Former England fly half Toby Flood is a great supporter of George Ford, and believes that the Sale Sharks man is an essential part to the current England team. Flood backs Ford’s ability to lead his back-line in the most pressurised of circumstances, and compared his attributes to star footballers Mo Salah and Jordan Henderson.
Speaking to OLBG after the final round of the 2024 Six Nations, Flood said;
“I have always been a huge fan of George’s. He is a fantastic player. He is slight so people will target him but his ability in terms of understanding of the game is up there with the best. He is another coach on the field. They talked about Jordan Henderson being that for Liverpool before he left, telling everyone what to do and people asking him. Mo Salah would be very similar.
“George still has time on his side. He has only just turned 30. He can easily make another World Cup. To have him in amongst that squad with his knowledge and with Marcus Smith as back up they have quality and the luxury of two players who are very, very good.”
Taking a retrospective look at the latest Six Nations, and Flood believes that the England players can be proud of their performances as a whole. England achieved wins against Italy, Wales and table-toppers Ireland to finish third, narrowly missing out on second place behind France. The former Newcastle Falcon stated how the England players challenged the coaching staff to be bold in their actions, and play a more expansive style of rugby than with what we saw at the Rugby World Cup.
“There was the rationale for querying certain things with the way they were operating early on. Was that driven by the newness of the team post World Cup or driven by the powers that be such as Steve Borthwick as to how they wanted to play?
“It feels like there has been a bit of internal strife and a desire for people to put their hands up and challenge the coaches by saying, ‘We want to play a bit differently and chance our arm a little bit.’
“Also there probably has been a greater compatibility between the squad with people being more comfortable with each other. Manu (Tuilagi) is going and Danny Care and Dan Cole look like calling it a day so there will be further change. But as long as the structure and behaviours in terms of how they want to play are there, then they are in a good spot.”
Flood also touched upon Ben Earl’s outburst against the media, following England’s impressive but albeit unexpected win against Ireland in round four. Earl hit back on the critics who called Steve Borthwick’s men the ‘worst England side ever’, and Flood stated how the Saracen’s retaliation was justifiable. However, the halfback continued to express how England can not soley rely on emotion to drive them to victories against the top sides in the world.
“It was justifiable to a point. When you are on the inside and you can feel that change coming which is something the public can’t appreciate, then there is frustration. After Scotland they would have looked at each other and asked a lot of, ‘What Ifs.’ I quite enjoyed the fact that he showed so much passion and spoke out as he did.
“The reaction against Ireland was impressive and the circling of the wagons was a catalyst for improved performances. The outpouring of emotion was reasonable when you feel you are being unjustly attacked. Ben has been exceptional and been the forefront of England especially when the team was going backwards.
“But you can only use that emotion for so long. There has to be that ability to lay a solid foundation and let’s hope the last two games are the benchmark for England going forward. It was exciting to watch and they could easily have beaten France.”
Flood followed this up by naming Earl as his Player of the Tournament, after a barn-storming run in the 2024 Six Nations. Earl is amongst a quartet of shortlisted players, which also includes Ireland centre Bundee Aki, Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe and Italy’s midfield maestro Tommaso Menoncello.
“There were question marks about Ben before the tournament about whether he was big enough and powerful enough as a number 8. But his feet, his movement and his ability to beat a man was outstanding. He was just so consistent.”
“It shows that something is going right. To have that confidence in the way you perform and back it up after Ireland was impressive. England have not always been able to do that. One off big wins have not always been backed up. The great teams do that.
“It gives you hope for the future. For large parts of the squad, it will feel like the team has turned a corner. There will be real confidence going into the next camp.”
Flood then turned his attention to a trio of England talents who impressed him throughout the competition, as he highlighted Tommy Freeman, George Martin and Ollie Chessum as stand out performers form England’s campaign. Beginning with Freeman, Flood labelled the Northampton Saints wing as the breakout man, and believed that Martin and Chessum were on fire in the forward pack.
“Tommy Freeman (breakout player). He just looks natural at international level, a player who can fit in incredibly well. He looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He looked like somebody who was very much at home in the international arena. He didn’t look worried about the expectations.”
“They do look to the manor born. I saw on social media about Ollie’s output on a Watt bike. There were raised eyebrows at the incredible things he was doing. Athletically he is a freak. He is the natural heir to Courtney Lawes.
“I remember seeing Martin in the corridors at Leicester and I was talking to Matt Smith, an old teammate who was the academy coach at the club. Matt doesn’t give out praise easily, but the pointed at George and said, ‘He’s proper.’
“The pair of them provide the grunt and just whack people. They are horrible and nasty in the best possible meaning. You have to have that when you come across big packs like France. You need to have people like who can repeatedly go to the well. They really look serious. You can sense when someone has got it and they do have it.”
The former Leicester Tigers man then expressed how having such a capable pair of young talents suitable to both lock and back-row, has freed up Maro Itoje to get back to his ‘mischievous’ best. The Saracen stalwart was tremendous for England, and dictated the set-piece as the side’s vice-captain.
“Yes. Maro was as difficult and as mischievous and he looked like he was beginning to enjoy his rugby again. Those two playing as they did freed up Maro to go about his business and not worry about other parts of his game might not be so proficient at.”
Continuing on with the battle tested veterans in the England squad, Flood was impressed by the performances from Danny Care and Dan Cole. With the two men passed the 35-year-old mark, they played with a freshness and intensity of one of the recent England debutants. Flood picked out Cole and Care as remarkable performers, with the Harlequin halfback now joining the Leicester tight-head amongst the exclusive club for England centurions.
“The two Dannys! They are both outstanding. Cole was supposed to be done and dusted after the 2019 World Cup and his career was written off. It’s remarkable what he has achieved, 122 caps. And Care over 100 caps. Care didn’t make the original World Cup squad! Alex Mitchell needs to be mentioned in despatches too. He was also cut for the tournament but has come back in and taken his chance and showed his importance to the side.”
England will next band together for senior test matches this Summer, when Steve Borthwick’s men head out on a tour of Japan and New Zealand. The hotly anticipated trip will see England play a one off test match against Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms, before taking on the All Blacks in a two match series. Flood is excited for the Summer fixtures, in what will be another proving ground for England.
“It will be a great test for England. Japan play a similar way to New Zealand and with the ball in hand they throw it around. New Zealand is the toughest place to tour by some stretch. The whole environment; the weather, the press, all that exterior stuff. It will be a wonderful line in the sand to see how England progress.
“We are now all quite excited. Eddie Jones will look to throw some curveballs in Japan and New Zealand will be tough but if England can get a result or at least show intent that shows they are on the right path.”