Ford’s game has moved up a gear after learning experience at Saints

Mike Ford is a former Castleford and Wakefield rugby league player who will be in New Zealand next month coaching England’s defence as Martin Johnson’s men challenge for World Cup honours.

Mike’s son George is one of the hottest prospects in rugby union. At 18, the Leicester Tigers fly-half has just returned from England’s successful Under-20s World Cup campaign and is a potential senior No 10 for the Red Rose.

Somewhere in the middle of the Ford wall of fame is George’s older brother Joe, 21, another No 10 off the production line who, after a year attempting to advance his credentials at Northampton Saints, has returned to his spiritual home of Leeds Carnegie to re-ignite his career.

The deal was mutually beneficial. Joe Ford some day wants to represent England and the only way he can do that is by getting game time under his belt.

For their part, Leeds Carnegie have struggled for a consistent No 10 for a long time, particularly during their relegation season, and their new head coach Diccon Edwards wants his new-look team to book an instant return to the top flight by playing an enterprising brand of rugby.

Joe Ford is the perfect fit.

“We hope that Joe has a long-term future here,” said Edwards, whose ethos on succeeding Neil Back is to rebuild Leeds from the youth system upwards.

Ford is the man around whom the team will be built. He may have left the club once thinking the grass was greener but he returns a maturer, stronger player, confident the club can match his ambitions.

“I realised at Northampton if I wanted to get where I want to be I need to play,” said Ford.

“As soon as Leeds were interested there was only one choice. I was lucky they were interested, and very grateful.

“There were other clubs wanting to speak to me, but Leeds is a good club, I was happy here before.

“I don’t regret going to Northampton. I still would have taken the same decision. It was a great experience, I learned a lot from some of the best players in the world like Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton.

“And I come back to Leeds a better player not through playing rugby, but from what I’ve learned from the people I was around, how they operate and what it takes to be a top player – from that perspective Northampton was a good experience.

“Stephen Myler, Shane Geraghty and Paul Grayson are quality No 10s to work with. Just watching them play, training with them every day and kicking with them was brilliant.”

Ford made a handful of appearances for Leeds in their first season back in the top flight, and even contributed with the boot as they pulled off the great escape.

That they lacked a consistently solid fly-half, who could kick goals and kick for territory, was one of the principal reasons they failed to repeat the feat last term.

Edwards and the Carnegie faithful are hoping Ford is the man to end what has been a long-standing problem position in what is becoming an increasingly tough second tier.

“It’s not about finishing top it’s about coming good when those play-offs begin,” said Ford.

“We’ve only been together a few weeks so it might take a bit of time, but if we’re ready for the play-offs that’s all that matters.

“In a lot of these games the pitch will be a leveller so the kicking game will be important.

“I’ve still got a lot of development to do and it’s important for a No 10 to get games under his belt.”

Despite having a relatively inexperienced fly-half pulling the strings for his promotion-favourites, Edwards – the club’s former Academy director – is confident enough in his young side to pair Ford with a fellow tyro at scrum-half.

Craig Hampson, 20, and Dan White, 21, are the two No 9s on the books and the club’s dual-registration partnership with Sale Sharks could see another young buck joining the half-back division.

Leeds are in talks with Will Cliff, a relative veteran at 22, who has spent five years forging a career at Edgeley Park.

They have also taken on Sheffield Tigers prop Sam Lockwood on a six-month contract. “He’s the right character and potential for us,” said Edwards. “We’re going to work with him from now until Christmas to see how he develops.”

Props and forwards will come to the fore when pitches soften and the Championship playgrounds become attritional.

Until then, it is down to Ford, Hampson and White to orchestrate youthful Leeds’s free-flowing brand of rugby.

And Ford wants to be the conduit. He has unfinished business with Leeds, a career to forge and a younger brother to catch. “We speak every week,” he said of his relationship with George, who he played against and got the better of in a Carnegie shirt two seasons ago when Leeds beat Leicester in the LV Cup.

“To have been nominated as one of the best young players in the world at the age of 18 shows how good he is and how good he can be.

“I’m hoping he gets a chance for Leicester with Flood at the World Cup. When we train together it’s competitive. But I want him to do as well as me. We want the best for each other. I want him to play for England. I want to play for England.”

Leeds team spiript will prove vital, says Hemingway

LEEDS Carnegie newcomer Dan Hemingway has called for his fellow flankers to fill the void created by the loss of star back-row forward Hendre Fourie.

England international Fourie joined Sale Sharks following Leeds’ relegation with former Leicester flanker/lock Hemingway one of those drafted in to replace him on a two-year deal.

“There’s a few boys here that can hold their hands up and play in the back row, myself included,” said Hemingway, 22.

“Every year you’re going to lose your star guys like Hendre and Kearnan Myall but you’ve got to hold your hand up and crack on with it.”

Hemingway is hoping the team spirit in the dressing room can help secure promotion from the Championship.

With 22 regular season games ahead and potentially 10 more in a play-off campaign, it promises to be a long season for the Headingley squad.

And coming from the Premiership environment, Hemingway alluded to the fact that many of the facilities at Championship grounds are not up to the standard they have been used to in the top division.

“It is a long year, some of the pitches and facilities are not so great so it will be a dogfight,” said Hemingway, who played in the Championship last season during a loan spell at Nottingham.

“It’s all about achieving what we all want to achieve, we are fit and ready for the first game against London Welsh.

“It’s a good group, we have a lot of Premiership experience, we all work together to try and get the best out of what we have.

“The pace of the game is different from the Premiership, it’s a lot more physical, but with the calibre of the players we have we can get back to where we want to be – the Premiership.”