Sale Sharks fly-half George Ford is set to be recalled by England ahead of the match with Wales in the 2023 Six Nations.
Ford frequently talks to Borthwick and strongly argues in favor of being recalled. According to him, playing as the No. 10 in Test rugby is not primarily about showy plays.
“I want to be in it again,” said Ford, who was speaking to The Times.
“I’m 29 now and I feel like my best rugby is ahead of me. I know it’s a bit of an easy thing to say. Obviously, I’ve got to show that week-in, week-out.”
Having been away for a long time and with only 40 minutes of rugby experience, Ford is optimistic that it is realistic for him to aim to play in this year’s Six Nations.
“Of course I do,” he says.
“I feel more energised and refreshed than I’ve ever known. Don’t get me wrong, in the first couple of weeks you feel like it’s 100-miles-an-hour chaos again, things happening everywhere.
“But you slowly get that feeling, awareness and instinctiveness back in your game. It slows down again so you feel like you’ve got time on the ball.
“At fly half, experience is invaluable, especially at the top level,”
“I reckon you will be at your best at 31, 32. You see it all the time — look at Johnny Sexton and Dan Carter. He was probably playing his best rugby then. Jonny [Wilkinson] probably played his best rugby at Toulon in that period of his career.
” It’s a weird thing. Test rugby is different. You’ve got to understand the game and think clearly a bit more — it’s not so much about the big moments or the flash moments.
“It’s ‘what can I do for the team to put them in the right position? How can I influence the team to build pressure?’ Obviously you need a little bit of creativity to score points.
“That’s what I find fascinating about Test rugby — especially in the game-managers positions at nine and ten. Experience is invaluable in those positions.”
“Form wing in England” – 5 players Steve Borthwick should call-up
Here, we list five players England head coach Steve Borthwick could call-up following the weekend’s Premiership action.
#1. Ollie Thorley (Gloucester)
Gloucestershire Live: “Another superb display from the winger. Fast, athletic, abrasive and a constant threat across the pitch.
“Gloucester got the ball into his hands as much as possible and reaped the rewards of it as the game went on. In the air he was faultless, firstly for his try where he rose above Nick David to score acrobatically, and from then on throughout the game he ruled the skies with some safe work.
“Racked up 61 metres from just six carries, and dragged the defence every-which way during his performance.
“A joy to watch in full flight and arguably the form wing in England.”
