England prospect Ford to line up alongside his brother at Leeds

England prospect George, 18, is the reigning IRB Young Player of the Year and will start at inside centre for Leeds against London Scottish.

He has joined for a month after which time he will link up with the England Under-20s for their Six Nations campaign.

Joe Ford, 21, will start at fly-half, and to complete the Ford family links, Leeds are currently in talks to make father Mike Ford’s flexible coaching role with the club more permanent.

Head coach Diccon Edwards does not plan to stop his recruitment there with the club exploring options to extend prop Kane Palma-Neport’s loan from Bath until the end of the season.

The good news offsets the negatives following news that the luckless Danny Paul – who limped out of the Boxing Day draw with Doncaster – will be out for four to six weeks with a calf strain.

Edwards said of the acquisition of Ford: “I worked with George in the England Under-20s and he is a player with great leadership skills as well as exceptional tactical and technical abilities. At only 18 he has shown all the qualities which I am confident will make him an excellent addition to our squad.”

Rotherham head to bottom side Esher today, with the Surrey club buoyed by their first good result of the season, a Boxing Day draw with Titans’ promotion rivals London Welsh.

Head coach Andre Bester said: “The important thing is for us to look at ourselves and get consistency in our performances.

“We know we have a tough match ahead of us down at Esher and I don’t think their league position reflects how close some of their matches have been.

“They defend with a lot of pride and passion. There is only respect from our side for Esher.”

Bester has named the 22-man squad that defeated Nottingham on Christmas Eve.