10 things you should know about England fly-half George Ford

George Ford has been one of England’s best fly-halves for over a decade, thanks to his varied kicking game, passing skills and vision.

Here are 10 things you should know about the Sale Sharks star, one of the most influential players in Steve Borthwick’s squad.

10 things you should know about George Ford

1. George Ford was born on 16 March 1993 in Oldham, England. He stands at 5ft 10in (1.78m) and weighs 13st 8lb (86kg).

2. His dad, Mike, was a rugby league legend (most notably for Wigan, Oldham and Castleford) and also coached George at Bath.

3. Unsurprisingly, Ford Jr started his career in rugby league, playing in the academies at Wigan Warriors and Bradford Bulls.

4. George’s older brother, Joe, was also a professional rugby union player, turning out for Leicester Tigers, Northampton and Yorkshire Carnegie. He now works alongside his little bro as Sale Sharks’ attack coach.

5. Ford was the youngest player to make his professional debut in England at 16 years and 237 days, when he played for Leicester against Leeds Tykes in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2009. He broke a record set by his childhood friend, former neighbour and later England team-mate Owen Farrell.

6. Ford also made his Gallagher PREM debut for Leicester in 2009. He went on to have stints with Bath Rugby and back at Leicester before arriving at his local club, Sale Sharks, in 2022.

7. He was nominated for BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2009, but was pipped to the prize by diver Tom Daley. In 2011 he became the first Englishman to win the IRB (now World Rugby) Junior Player of the Year award.

8. Ford made his debut for England in 2014 against Wales and won Six Nations titles in 2016, 2017 and 2020. He also played in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups, though is yet to be selected for the British & Irish Lions.

9. Former Harlequin Nick Evans is the only player to reach 1,500 PREM Rugby points faster than Ford. Ford currently sits third in the all-time list, behind Charlie Hodgson and Andy Goode.

10. Despite his northern roots, Ford is a fan of Chelsea FC. “I started following football and Chelsea were the closest team to where I lived and I enjoyed the way they played,” he said. “I always liked players such as John Terry and Frank Lampard, so from then on I just wanted Chelsea to win and I haven’t changed since.”

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