Ford’s chance to stake Six Nations claim

OLDHAM’S George Ford will hope to click alongside the recalled Billy Twelvetrees when England entertain Australia in tomorrow’s Autumn finale at Twickenham.

Twelvetrees has been brought back into the team in a bid to solve England’s perennial midfield conundrum.

Ford, who is keen to make a strong case for his retention at fly–half for the Six Nations opener against Wales on February 6 – England's next match after the visit of the Wallabies – played alongside Twelvetrees at Leicester before their club careers took them to Bath and Gloucester respectively.

Said Ford: "I played with Billy for a long time at Leicester and we've kept really close since. He's just down the road at Gloucester and we see each other all the time. It's good to play with someone you have a relationship with because you can talk about the game really easily.

"We played in the ‘A’ League for Leicester together and we played at 10 and 12. Billy likes playing 12 more than he does 10 although he is very capable of playing 10 as well."

Four weeks ago, 26–year–old Twelvetrees’ prospects for the QBE Series were bleak, but with Oldham’s Kyle Eastmond discarded after the three–point defeats by New Zealand and South Africa and Owen Farrell failing to deliver against Samoa, he is now restored at inside centre.