George basks in Grand Slam glory

RUGBY UNION:

FLY-HALF George Ford hit dazzling heights as England under-20s secured an RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam with a 46-15 win over Ireland.

Ford (17), son of former Oldham RL player-coach Mike, landed four penalties and two conversions to cap a memorable triumph in Athlone, with tries coming from Charlie Matthews, Ryan Mills, Matt Kvesic, Andy Short, Mike Haywood and Alex Gray.

The ex-Oldham St Anne’s, Saddleworth Rangers and Waterhead star, who now turns out for Leicester Tigers following his switch to union, became a mainstay in Rob Hunter’s squad, despite playing at an age grade beyond his years.

“One of our season objectives was to win the Grand Slam, and that’s what we’ve done,” said Ford.

Ford admits improvements can still be made ahead of the next big test.

He added: “We can quite easily be harsh on ourselves and say that we need to be nailing all these chances, but there are a few months until the Junior World Championship starts in Italy and I’m sure we’ll work on our game even further.”