Rugby World: The Champions

Focus on Scotland
WORDS: Katie Field MAIN PICTURE: Philippe Merle/AFP/Getty Images
Ford ranger looks
for travel perks
The Scotland hooker has high hopes for club and country this season, starting
with a first away win in more than four years for Edinburgh in the Heineken Cup
F EDINBURGH hit their Heineken Cup target hooker says: “He takes a very technical look at every position
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this season they will have bucked a trend which and every player. He gets you thinking about every part of your
dates back to 18 January 2004. On that day game and how to be more effective.” Robinson’s background
they won 23-0 at Leeds in the Heineken Cup, as an England coach inevitably leads to some banter, but Ford
but since then it’s been all gloom, doom and says: “There’s good crack between him and the boys, but when
frustration on their European travels as they have lost it comes to training, what he says goes.” So, has the famed
14 consecutive away matches. This year they hope it will be Robinson glare been employed to get everyone focused?
different. Edinburgh aim to win at least one away match in “Oh yes! That face can turn you around,” laughs Ford.
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Heineken Cup Pool Two, as well as all three home matches, Ford established himself as Scotland’s ﬁ rst-choice hooker
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and qualify for the knockout stages for only the second last season after snapping at the heels of Dougie Hall and
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time, having lost to Toulouse in a quarter-ﬁ nal in 2004. Scott Lawson. Having won his ﬁ rst cap off the bench in
With Leinster, London Wasps – both reigning champions November 2004 against Australia, he made eight more

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of their respective leagues – and Castres in the pool, it will substitute appearances before his ﬁ rst start in March 2007.
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be tough, but Edinburgh hooker Ross Ford believes the Injuries to Hall and Lawson in the run-up to the World Cup
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Scots are up to the challenge. “After last year, when we beat opened the door for Ford to start warm-up Tests against
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Leinster and Leicester at home, we know we can compete Ireland and South Africa, and he has been almost ever-present
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on the big stage against the big teams,” he says. “It’s about since – just starting on the bench in the World Cup against
taking a step on from there and making it difﬁ cult to come Portugal, being rested for the clash with the All Blacks and

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to Murrayﬁ eld and win, as well as getting a few away wins.” missing this year’s Italy match due to injury.
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Edinburgh’s campaign starts at home on 11 October “It was a really good year for me. I enjoyed playing my rugby,
against Leinster, who they beat 29-10 in Scotland last term. played some good games and had some memorable victories.
Their ﬁ rst away game follows a week later, at Castres. Hopefully I can kick on from there,” he says.
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Despite being one of the lowest-ranked French sides in However, Ford knows he will have to ﬁ ght to keep the Scotland
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the draw, Castres will be no pushovers. Yet Edinburgh will No 2 shirt in the face of competition that includes Gloucester’s
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travel without fear, Ford saying: “It’s a really tough Lawson and Glasgow’s Hall and Fergus Thomson. “I approach
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competition but this squad is very ambitious.” every season as a new start. People develop and provide new
Ford, 24, joined Edinburgh in 2007 when the club’s challenges, and I have to keep ahead. I try to tackle the weaker
dispute with the SRU was raging. By the time he arrived in points of my game and get them up to scratch.”
late October, after the World Cup, Andy Robinson was the Ford worked hard on his open play and ball-carrying last
new head coach and things were beginning to settle down. season, as well as on making better use of his 6ft 1in, 16st frame
“We were unlucky to lose some games by a point or two, but in scrums. He rounded off 2007-08 by helping Scotland beat
then we started to pick up a few away wins in the Magners Argentina for the ﬁ rst time in 18 years, capping the season by
League and by the end of the season we knew we could scoring a try in their 26-14 triumph in Buenos Aires in June. That
take on anybody if we played to our potential,” Ford says. win helped avenge Scotland’s World Cup quarter-ﬁ nal loss to
Edinburgh ﬁ nished fourth in the league and Ford adds: the Pumas and Ford hopes to put another World Cup ghost to
“We want to be challenging in the top half of the table and bed by facing New Zealand on 8 November. He was gutted to
Dive bomber: Ford
teams might look out for us more this season than last, miss the chance to take them on in France last year and says:
scores against Portugal
so we’ve got to be even more clinical.” “They are a great team – very physical. I would love to go up
at the 2007 World Cup
Robinson’s methods have impressed Ford and the against them and prove myself at that level.”
QUICK-FIRE PROFILE
smash into boys without match, then followed him
getting into trouble around for the rest of the
Name Ross William Ford magazines, take it easy Embarrassing moment match saying sorry
Born 23 April 1984 (24) Most difﬁ cult opponent Changing shorts on the I’d like to meet…
Birthplace Edinburgh Dimitri Szarzewski, the pitch in a Borders match Muhammad Ali
Marital status French hooker, is tough Childhood rugby hero Surprising fact I came
Girlfriend Laura to scrummage against John Jeffrey [right] third in the U16s shot put
Dish you most like to Another sport you’d like Most amazing remark at the Scottish Schools
cook Chicken fajitas to play professionally heard on ﬁ eld A player Athletics Championship
To switch off from American Football. I’d bit one of our player’s Best moment in rugby
rugby I… Watch TV, read like to run about and ﬁ ngers in an Edinburgh 2006 Calcutta Cup n
FORD HAS MADE 22 APPEARANCES FOR SCOTLAND AND HAS SCORED TWO TEST TRIES + HIS FAVOURITE TV PROGRAMME IS DIRTY SEXY MONEY
134 NOVEMBER 2008 RUGBY WORLD
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