George Ford
Owen Farrell
England coach Stuart Lancaster will make potentially the most important selection decision of his tenure when he chooses between George Ford and Owen Farrell as his starting flyhalf for next week’s match with Australia.
Ford, 21, was handed his first start on Saturday and grabbed the opportunity with both hands as England beat Samoa 28-9.
In 80 minutes of a patchy overall team performance he tried more, and achieved more in terms of inventive attacking ideas, than steady and reliable Farrell has mustered in the last 18 months.
He also landed five of his seven goal kicks, an area where Farrell is considered to have the edge.
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If Lancaster sticks with Ford for the match against the Wallabies it will represent a major shift of focus, with only nine games and 10 months to go before the World Cup.
If he recalls Farrell, who was moved to inside centre on Saturday, it sends a message that the 22-year-old with ice in his veins will be given the task of driving England towards the Webb Ellis Cup via a kicking game on the back of forward power.
“We’ve got that decision to make,” Lancaster told reporters. “George has been waiting patiently for his chance and he’s put a real marker down.
“He made some good line breaks, he has a great eye for a gap, his kicking was good, he took some hits – bravely – so it was a really positive game for him.”
Invisible Gaps
Two or three bursts through invisible gaps had the Twickenham crowd – not used to such audacity – on their feet, while his pinpoint kick into the arms of Anthony Watson to set up Mike Brown for the second try was the moment of the match.
Ford, son of former England defence coach Mike, went to school with Farrell and the two Wiganers played sided by side at 10 and 12 – with Ford the flyhalf – through England’s age-group teams.
“George and Owen are exceptionally good team players, but he (George) performed well in very difficult circumstances with a side who came at him hard,” said England attack coach Mike Catt.
Ford, unsurprisingly, was reluctant to blow his own trumpet despite being pressed, repeatedly, to do so by former England centre Will Greenwood in his role as a Sky TV pundit.
“There was some okay stuff out there but some I can improve on,” said Ford, in the only answer of a dozen that included an “I” rather than a “we”.
The same can be said of England’s uneven performance, but if Ford remains in the driving seat it is likely to be an exciting ride.