Mike Ford ready for baptism of fire
'We are going to get busted' says England's new defensive guru
England's new defence coach Mike Ford admits there is a chance the world champions will "get busted" by a star-studded Australian back division at Telstra Stadium on Sunday.
Ford could have chosen few tougher debuts to succeed World Cup-winning defensive mastermind Phil Larder than by attempting a shut-out of Wallabies strike weapons such as Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers and Stirling Mortlock.
But the former Great Britain Rugby League international is relishing his baptism of fire as England target a first win in four Tests following their latest Six Nations flop.
England coach Andy Robinson will name a team on Tuesday that is set to include three new caps – scrum-half Peter Richards, lock Alex Brown and flanker Magnus Lund – while centre Mathew Tait and lock Louis Deacon are poised for only second Test match starts.
There is also a fresh feel about England's coaching staff, with Ford joining his fellow recently-appointed colleagues Brian Ashton and John Wells as supremo Robinson plots an overdue win after two seasons of deflating under-achievement.
"We are going to try to vary our defence," said Ford, who quit a head coach's role at Guinness Premiership club Saracens to join the new-look support crew.
"We are trying to mix it up, which is high risk at times, but it is a case of trying to put a system together.
"Brian Ashton is putting into place a scenario whereby the players decide what to do in attack, and I am trying to create a scenario whereby the players decide what to do in defence. We want to keep the Australians guessing.
"I love working with Brian, and I think we are on the same page in the way he wants to coach the attack and the way I want to coach the defence.
"I have analysed the way they [Australia] played in the autumn, when all the home nations defended the same way against them and Australia dictated their attack to the opposition.
"We are going to get busted, and it is going to take a few games, but it is about the players keeping faith and trusting in the system."
Larder's well-formulated defensive strategies proved key elements behind England's rise to world champion status during the Sir Clive Woodward era, with Ford in no doubt he is following a tough act.
"Phil put the foundations there, without question," Ford added. "He has been one of the best, if not the best, defensive coach over a number of years now.
"I feel that come the end of the autumn, we will probably be 85-90% of the way there, and then be really cooking in the Six Nations next year.
"I am not expecting to concede tries [on Sunday], but there are going to be times when our defensive line is busted, and then our insurance policies come in and you might see a lot of scrambling defence.
"I see it as a reality check. We are playing against one of the best back-lines in the world away from home – we've only won in Australia twice – and it is going to be tough, but it is a challenge we will relish.
"I like to speak to players individually, I like to impound leaders, and maybe come the autumn Tests, 50% of the training sessions will be down to them."
An integral part of that blueprint looks set to be 20-year Newcastle prospect Tait, with Ford claiming: "Mathew Tait has so impressed me.
"He has fantastic feet, a tremendous tackling technique and he is only going to get better. He is such a quick learner."
Perhaps the biggest battle for Ford and Tait though, is England's continuing fight with the Sydney elements, which continued today as torrential rain made training conditions increasingly difficult.
Sydney experienced its coldest June day for 12 years yesterday – barely 12 degrees – and wettest day in 12 months, with more than 50 millimetres of rain drenching the city, causing travel disruption to the Harbour's ferry services.
The deluge is expected to continue until at least Thursday, although forecasters have predicted only patchy rain during Sunday's Test match.
