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George Ford set his sights on a fourth World Cup and global glory with England and revealed the secret to his stunning form for club and country – pilates.
Ford, 32, has become the latest England star to commit to Steve Borthwick’s national side by signing a three-year deal with Sale and ignoring the lure of R360.
He is the man in possession of England’s No 10 shirt going into a pivotal November campaign.
‘I love playing for England. I want to have the opportunity to represent my country. I still feel I’ve got a lot more to give in a white shirt,’ Ford said.
‘I've had three different experiences in the three World Cups I've been to. We didn't make it out of the pool in 2015, lost the final in 2019 and lost the semi-final in 2023.
‘Even if one of the last two times we’d won it, I’d still feel the same now about trying to go and win another one. There's no better motivation than winning for England.
George Ford has re-signed with Sale Sharks and is targeting a fourth World Cup with England
Ford, 32, is in the form of his life and has ignored an approach from breakaway league R360
‘It's not just about representing England. You want to be part of a winning team.’
Ford ignored more lucrative offers from rugby’s breakaway league R360 and in France to commit to Sale and England. The fly-half’s new Sharks contract means he is likely to end his career in Manchester with a future in coaching likely.
Ford co-captained England to an impressive 2-0 series win in Argentina this summer on a tour where Borthwick was without his leading players who were on Lions duty.
He now has 102 caps for his country and is playing the best rugby of his life.
‘As players we understand what’s going on with trying to set up this new league,’ Ford said, when questioned as to whether he’d been interested in signing with R360.
‘They did contact my agent to have discussions. My decision making was purely based on I love playing for England and I’ve got an unbelievable desire to keep playing for England.
‘It’s the same with Sale. I’ve loved my time here. It never really got any further than that with the conversations with the proposed new league.’
Ford is the man in possession of the England No 10 shirt going into four crunch November Tests
He excelled in Argentina this summer, co-captaining his country to a fine 2-0 series win
Ford has become the latest England star to turn down R360, following Northampton half-backs and Test team-mates Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith.
Ford continued: ‘I’ve been doing a lot more pilates. I know that sounds funny and people will say “What are you doing pilates for?”
'But what it has done to help my hip, my back, my kicking and everything really has been great. We feel as rugby players we're strong.
'But that exposed a few areas if I'm honest with you in terms of weaknesses. I wish I'd have started it a bit earlier.’
Ford has started the new season in expert fashion once again.
He will face England fly-half competition from the two Smiths – Fin and Marcus – this autumn. There is also the possibility of a Test return for Owen Farrell.
National head coach Borthwick will name a pre-autumn training squad on Sunday.
Ford is by no means guaranteed a starting spot when England begin their four crunch end-of-year Tests against Australia at Twickenham on November 1.
Fin Smith took control of the white No 10 jersey in the Six Nations. But it is hard to look past Ford on current form, with his experience and game management added bonuses in his favour.
National head coach Steve Borthwick has an impressive range of fly-half options to pick from
‘The squad is incredibly talented. The quality of it is right up there with any England squad I’ve been a part of in the past 11 or 12 years,’ Ford said.
‘There’s a lot being spoken about with competition and different strengths and weaknesses, but the most important thing is England winning.
'It’s not who is selected and who isn’t. What motivates me is being part a winning England team. There is honestly no better feeling. I want to have the ability to do everything.’
Elsewhere, Tom Jordan’s ban for dangerous tackling has added to Bristol’s unfortunate start to the new season.
Summer signing Jordan was sent off in the weekend’s win over Exeter.
He will definitely miss the next three matches but should be back in action for Scotland’s crunch autumn Test with New Zealand – the country of his birth – if he completes a World Rugby course.
In the meantime, his Bristol absence is another big blow to the Bears who have already lost a host of first-choice stars to injury in the new campaign.
