Sale Sharks and England fly half George Ford, has spoken about the importance of Northern identity within the Sale Sharks squad. The 30-year-old belives that his side embodies what it means to represent to North of England, and he is excited to bring the ‘Northern grit’ to Twickenham Stadium.
Sale make the trip ‘down South’ this weekend, as they take on Saracens in the 2022/23 Gallagher Premiership Final. The stage is set with an underlying storyline of ‘Northern underdogs’, taking on the favourites from the nations capital. With Ford at the helm, Sale have reached their first Premiership Final since Jason Robinson lifted the trophy in 2006.
Ford could be set to win back-to-back Premiership Finals over Saracens, as the halfback led Leicester Tigers out at Twickenham for the 2021/22 showpiece. An unfortunate injury saw Ford vacate Twickenham earlier than expected, yet opened the door for Freddie Burns’ fairy-tale drop goal, to secure a dramatic victory for the Tigers.
Ford spoke with BBC Radio 5 Live, about how the squad embodies the Northern spirit ahead of the final.
“The spirit and the fight of the team, is something that we want to keep at the forefront of our minds. It’s obviously led by Alex (Sanderson) at the top who’s unbelievable like that.
“It’s I suppose, trying to bring together what’s great about the North, Northern people, having a bit of Northern grit and fighting for each other, and working hard for each other. To be like the identity or DNA of our team.
“We don’t want to go too far away from that at all. We know it gives us a chance.”
“I’ve been away since 16, playing in Leicester and Bath, and back to Leicester. So for 13, 14 years I’ve been playing rugby south of here, and I know how big it is down there. The following, and I know how big them clubs are down there.
“And I think there deserves to be that up here as well. Obviously it means a lot to me, because I grew up here, my family are here, and they get to come and watch me play week in, week out now.
“And I’m around Northern people most of the time, who you know, it means a lot to them. For us all to come together I suppose, and try and create a winning and successful team, whose people can be proud of round here, is what really drives us.”