One man who will be keeping a very close eye on the Six Nations match between Ireland and England is Bath head coach Mike Ford.
Father of England fly-half George Ford and a former Ireland defence coach in his own right, his interest will certainly be piqued.
Ford joined us on Off The Ball ahead of the big match and gave us an insight into the mindset of his son, who he also coaches at Bath.
"I don't get concerned with George with his rugby. Since he was 4-years-old, he's always been different. He's always played up a level as well," said Ford, who also opened up about the dynamic between himself and his son.
"It's been a challenge to be honest. When I wasn't his head coach at Bath, we'd talk about his Leicester days. But mainly when I saw George, it was as a dad. Now I see him everyday at Bath rugby and every day we talk rugby and tactics. We then go home at the end of the day and we don't usually talk to each other because we've seen each other all day at work."
Bath’s Head coach Mike Ford ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Looking towards the match, he said: "I think Ireland are the favourites. They're tough to beat. You can come up with the best game plan in the world but unless you win the ruck with the Irish and get quick ball to the centres [it's tough]."
Ford also gave us an insight into his work as an attack-minded head coach of Bath Rugby Club, having served as Ireland defence coach from 2002 to 2005 under Eddie O'Sullivan.
"Me and Eddie just took off from the first meeting. We didn't know each other much, but we got on from that very first meeting.. There was great support from Eddie and I love my time with Ireland," he said.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
