Brian Smith backs Bath Rugby"s George Ford for England

Talk of George Ford playing for England is a bit of a taboo subject at Bath Rugby at the moment.

While the fly-half continues to put in virtuoso performances for his new club, Bath head coach – and Ford’s father – Mike is forced to stress on a near weekly basis that neither club nor player are thinking about anything other than the next game.

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   London Irish boss and ex-England attack coach Brian Smith has backed George Ford to earn international honours. PICTURE: Mervyn Clingan / TakingPictures-Sport.co.uk

   
   

They are right not to get ahead of themselves. Ford has at least Owen Farrell, Toby Flood and Freddie Burns ahead of him in the pecking order and, still only 20, time is well on his side.

Having been on the receiving end of Ford’s latest display of brilliance, however, former England attack boss Brian Smith is not so cautious.

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Ford almost single-handedly inflicted a 33-18 Aviva Premiership defeat on Smith’s London Irish side at the weekend. The Australian now expects him to be weaving his magic in an England jersey sooner rather than later.

“George Ford is on fire right now,” said Smith, who spent more than three years alongside Mike Ford on the Red Rose coaching staff.

“I have got a lot of time for George and a lot of time for his dad. I think George Ford is tearing up trees as a ten.

“He has got a lot of control and you can see the way the players rally around him. He is managing things very, very well.

“I think England are very, very lucky. He is a class act and a very, very good player. It’s nice to see him blossoming.

“I think it’s good for English rugby. It’s great that there are guys like George putting his hand up. If he keeps playing the way he is playing, I don’t think they can ignore him for too long.”

Article source: http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=40468

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Brian Smith backs Bath Rugby"s George Ford for England