George Ford – Should he stay or should he go?

Speculation surrounding George Ford’s future at Leicester Tigers continues to increase as the young fly half fights it out with the experienced Toby Flood for the number 10 spot at Welford Road.

Ford is a burgeoning prospect on the rugby scene and at 19 years old, he has a lot of rugby left to play in his career but as he rarely so much as ties his boot laces to strike at goal of late, does the teenager need to spread his wings and fly from the nest?

It’s a difficult situation for Ford as he’s not even past the teenage barrier and he will carry on learning as player at Leicester.

But he can’t help but look at the success Owen Farrell is having with England due to playing regular first-team rugby in the Premiership and Heineken Cup with Saracens. Whether it’d be playing fly half or at inside centre, where he has been moved to accommodate Charlie Hodgson’s very good form, Farrell is enjoying a weekly starting role.

As Ford gets less and less game time in a green shirt, the likelihood of a debut in the prominent white jersey goes further off the radar. The uncapped man has a lot of strong competition all of which play regularly for their clubs; Flood, Farrell, Hodgson,  Danny Cipriani and recently called-up Freddie Burns are all in contention ahead of Ford for the famous number 10 top.

Struggling to get in front of Flood at club level is bad enough, but being behind several other talents who play week in week out on the international scene must be a knock to the confidence.

Where would he go? There’s a lot of Premiership clubs that lack a consistent, solid performer at standoff in their ranks such as Northampton or London Irish and Ford could definitely command a starting place.

Former Leicester man Austin Healey has already made it clear that Ford should move from the Tigers saying Northampton would be a good place for him and could help them move from challengers to a major force.

On the other front, Will Greenwood, who played for the Leicester in just over 150 games, believes it’s a more difficult decision than perceived on paper.

“It’s a tough stage in his career.” Greenwood said.

“He needs games; he played poorly last week (in Leicester’s 16-12 win against Northampton) but he hasn’t been at that level for a long time.”

Greenwood pondered; “Does he stay at Leicester and hope Cockerill (Richard, Leicester Tigers’ Director of Rugby) gives him more game time or go and get regular football a la Freddie Burns? It’s a difficult one.”

Cockerill isn’t the type of man to pick a player for the sake of it and Ford needs to prove why he should be picked ahead of Flood and give the 50-timed capped England man something to worry about.

If Mr Ford can’t manage that this season, a different coloured shirt may suit him better.