George Ford - Future England great?

I was just wondering what peoples thoughts are on George Ford the England under 20's outside half? He is the youngest player in the under 20's tounrment playing against guys 2 years older but has stood out and looked a class act. He made his first team debut for the tigers aged just 17 years old in one of the most crucuial positions on the field.
From what I have seen of the lad his understanding and reading of the game is 2nd to none. He knows when to run and when to kick and seems the complete player to me.
I am hoping that he starts to get more of a run in the Tigers team now he is getting to the age where he is bulking up especially with Flood away on world cup duty.
For me the early indications are that he will be a future world star, I for one hope that Moragn from Wales continues in his development as these two players could go head to head for years to come.

Too early to say yet, and Tigers trusted Stauton and 36 (out of position, and it seems cockerill hates him) ahead of him. He only got his chance when there was literaly noone else available. With Flood as well hes only 4th choice at the club currently, but shoudl get some gmetime early season.
If he can step up like Tuilagi and Yougs have then we can start talking about him as a good club player.
If he goes on from that to become a regular and steps up from he age group england sides we can say yeah he should be in line for an England cap.
If he gets one and does well then you can start talking about him being a good international player. Unless youre GreyGhost in which case he will always be rubbish, even if he kicks the winning goal in a world cup.

He obviiously has talent though, hes one whos been marked out from an early age ( although possibly helsp with who his dad is...like Farrel) as a potentialy very good player.
But then so was Cirpriani.

Potentially yes...but reality is a different animal altogether.

Lets give the lad some time in the Leicester shirt.

There seems to be a lot of real potential comng through the ranks at the moment...i only hope that a few of them really hit the mark and become truly world class....

Without being arrogant or over confident...the future is looking bright if you are an England fan....more than can be said a few years back.

Cipriani once lit up an England age group squad and was hailed as a future great... actually so did Gavin Henson for Wales...

Early promise does not always been a great future... unless your Jonny Wilkinson and you play against the full Australian side aged 17.

Mr Thunder wrote:Early promise does not always been a great future... unless your Jonny Wilkinson and you play against the full Australian side aged 17.

Or Manu when he played the senior South Africa side as an ameture, and won. Hes now one of the worlds top middleweight boxers.

What I like about Ford is the blatant confidence he exudes. He's not big but never seems to let this affect his commitment to the physicalities of the game, and, if you watch him play, he has this look of controlled concentration at all times. You just get the impression that he has an unshakable faith in his own abilities which is something you cannot really teach, and is possibly the most important trait for an aspiring international fly half.

As far as his limited exposure to senior rugby goes, you mustn't forget that he is actually the youngest player in the JR world cup, and I believe (could be wrong) he played in the same tournament last year, so he would have already been playing against more physically mature players. I think that Leicester's decision to not test him in the premiership is absolutely bang on and the right thing to do. Ford is obviously not the biggest player there is and, perhaps, needs more tme to develop than the likes of Tuilagi. Thrusting him into the Man's game at this stage may not be the best thing for the youngster, but I expect we'll see a LOT more of him next season.

Morgan will never play FH for Wales - he's way too small. If Ford can bulk up, and avoid injury, then he has as good a chance as any 18 year old of making it. He wasn't at last year's tournament.

Ford's already being rated on Australian boards. The Aussies are pretty good at recognising young talent. They're pretty good about getting it playing in the big leagues early too - which probably has as much to do with the lack of depth in their player pool. Sometimes too many options is not such a good thing at club level.