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George Ford believes “deception” will be the key to unlocking Manu Tuilagi’s full potential when the former England and Leicester team-mates link up at Sale together.
Ford is yet to make his debut for the club he joined last summer due to a ruptured Achilles injury sustained while guiding the Tigers to last season’s Gallagher Premiership victory.
The 29-year-old fly-half could return to action at the end of December and has already created a blueprint for coaxing the best out of marauding center Tuilagi.
While Tuilagi was finally able to win his 50th cap in the recent autumn series following numerous injury problems, he was not at his most destructive in a misfiring England team.
“Manu needs deception around him. He needs to get the ball when he’s not the only option to get the ball, he needs to have other people around him so you can do one-on-ones for him,” Ford said.
“If you do a one-on-one for Manu, or half a shoulder for Manu, it’s impossible for him to handle well. Also, it’s about how we get Manu in time, in space, and in those phase play moments, not just in a set-piece.
“You can design a play off a set-piece but you have to get Manu with the ball in his hands when it’s a bit unstructured, when he can get the ball in a channel and he has a one-on-one. .
“Again, that’s a lot of trickery, it’s not just going to be handed to Manu and ‘there you go, bring the whole team’. It’s about your team mindset and philosophy.”
Although disappointed not to be able to make his Sharks debut, Ford used the first significant injury of his career to rebuild and also help sharpen Sale’s attack as an auxiliary coach.
“My mindset is thinking I’m not hurt. I know that sounds funny, but it’s a chance,” Ford said.
“From when I made my debut at the age of 16 or 17 – I’m 29 now – I’ve been in rugby for 12 years and I’ve been lucky not to have any long-term injuries and maybe it’s time for me to refresh and come back. a better player.
“When you have an injury like this, you’re starting from ground zero and you’re rebuilding in terms of foundations and when you’re week-to-week and season-to-season, you don’t have time to do that.”
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