Ross Ford is staying in Scotland for the next two years and aims to become a leader with both Edinburgh and the national team in that time but he plans to stay a slow burning influence rather than a fiery character on the pitch, even in the heart of Sunday’s Calcutta Cup clash with England.
The battle at hooker at Twickenham in the RBS Six Nations’ oldest fixture pitches the apparently mild-mannered Ford against England’s volatile Dylan Hartley, who is often the target for the wind-up merchants on opposition teams with his notoriously short fuse.
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson already tried to start that up a little by suggesting that Hartley tries to con referees into penalising opposition teams by scrummaging upwards, but for Ford who signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Edinburgh yesterday the more that Hartley is spitting invective or fury, the better he likes it.
“Dylan and I have played against each other twice already this season in the Heineken Cup, and of course we played against each other last year when we got in amongst each other pretty early on,” said the 26-year-old, smiling at the memory.
“But that was good, to be honest. I like playing against a guy like that. He’s been going well so far and is an aggressive player, in your face as soon as he can. There’s a lot of talk comes out of him as well, the usual sledging and stuff, but I enjoy that too.
“It’s good fun, and maybe it brings out a little in me as well.”
While Hartley makes himself known and heard, Ford is more reserved, but don’t think for a second that means he’s taking a step back.Trying harder”There are times when I lose it out there, but it doesn’t come across like that,” he conceded. “With me it’s not so much visibly losing the rag, but I’ll hit the next tackle harder, or carry up the ball with extra force. I try to channel it into getting more into the game in defence and attack.
“It might be perceived as me not being aggressive, but it’s not like that. For me it’s what I do best when I’m playing better.”
Ford accepts that he hasn’t been at his best in this championship so far but is determined to “park those performances in the past,” even after Andy Robinson suggested the call at hooker between him and Scott Lawson had been the closest the head coach had to make for some time.
“It is justified. Andy’s the coach and calls it as he sees it,” he said. “I’ve let myself down at times this season and I’m the first one to look at my game and whether I’ve met my own high standards.
“It happens when some seasons go better than others, but it’s all about having confidence in your own ability. I know I’m a good enough player.”
Meanwhile Ford has agreed new terms with Edinburgh, but said fending “tempting offers” from elsewhere before deciding on a new contract had not been a distraction.
“It’s nice to have it done and dusted and know what you’re doing,” he said. “This is a world cup year, and the benefits of being a player in Scotland is you get looked after so well, so for me it it was a big factor to be in the best shape I can be with one eye on the world cup.Forward”I’m still only 26, so there’s plenty time in the future. I’ll just be happy to play for Edinburgh, continue to develop myself as a player and leader, and get the club going forward.”
Captain Al Kellock meanwhile believes an 80-minute performance plus “playing to our best and perhaps a bit beyond that” will be needed to carry off the first Scottish win at Twickenham since 1983.
“Coming out of the Ireland game was a lot more positive than Wales, but a few things were just as poor and we have to eradicate them to have any hope of winning at Twickenham,” he said.
“We’ve had bad spells in games and you’ll obviously have them but it’s how you react. At present we’re drifting out of the game at crucial times and compounding our errors.”
“Confidence is a factor, and if we were winning games the bad spells would be shorter and sorted out quicker, but we’ve all had experience in both international and club rugby in turning situations like that around,” said Kellock.
“One of the pleasing things about Ireland is the way we came back and played some of our best rugby in the last 15-20 minutes, but we can’t be points down before we play our best stuff.”
Kellock isn’t thinking of being the fifth Scottish captain to win at Twickenham, the rivalry, or denying England the grand slam.
“We’re just focusing on what we need to do to win, and while the game is a little bit more special and the rivalry is right up there with anything you experience, our need for a win outweighs everything this week.”