Six Nations: Ross Ford delivers a welcome boost as he opts to stay with Edinburgh

Published on Thursday 10 March 2011 19:57

SCOTTISH rugby has received a major boost with international hooker Ross Ford deciding not to purse lucrative offers from England and France to sign on again with Edinburgh.

The 26-year-old, who starts his 27th consecutive test match against England on Sunday, was widely tipped to be leaving the capital this summer after it emerged that offers had been tabled from the Aviva Premiership and French Top 14 - believed to be more than double his current salary.

In accepting the departure of Glasgow and Scotland centre Max Evans to Castres, SRU chief executive Gordon McKie made it clear that he would not stretch the finances greatly to keep all of Scotland's leading players in the country.

As Ford spoke yesterday of his reasons for signing a new two-year deal, however, it appears that McKie has listened to pleas for more investment in the professional teams and Ford put personal improvement the above possible financial gains on offer at this stage in his career.

Agreeing with the assertion that he has not been in his best form lately, Ford denied he lacked ambition by staying in Scotland, insisting that he was staying in order to become a better player.

"I know myself that, at times, I've let myself down and I'm the first one to be disappointed because I set myself high standards, but all I can do is look forward to the next game and try to improve.

"I am only 26 so there's plenty time to go elsewhere but, right now, I'm happy to be playing for Edinburgh and looking forward to developing myself more and becoming more of a leader. I did have quite a few offers and some were tempting but, being a World Cup year, it was important to me that being a player in Scotland you are looked after well. For me that was a big factor. I want to improve now and be in the best shape I can be going into the World Cup."

With much restructuring going on with the squad, in the wake of coach Rob Moffat's departure, Craig Docherty, the Edinburgh chief executive, added: "If signing someone of the stature of Ross, a 26-year-old British and Irish Lion, doesn't show that we are serious about this club, and want to keep our best players, then I don't know what would.

"There have been mixed messages about the investment in pro rugby by the SRU, but we obviously have to work within a budget - every club does - and we have worked hard to persuade players to stay with us. This is great news and we want to build on it."

Ford's more immediate focus is not on Edinburgh, but England and the opportunity handed to him by Scotland coach Andy Robinson to improve his performances and outshine Dylan Hartley, one of England's most impressive performers in the current campaign.

Hartley was unhappy at being left out of the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 2009, where Ford went on to join the Lions' brethren of Kelso in claiming a Lions cap off the bench in the final Test, and so, after a dust-up between the pair last year, is expected again to be out to prove a point against the Scot. That kind of challenge may be just what Ford needs to find the extra spark of aggression that he misses from his game when confidence dips.

The Borderer insisted he revelled in that kind of approach, and knows that, if Hartley is losing his cool while he retains his, something will be going the way of Scotland.

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• Follow our Six Nations coverage on Twitter"Dylan Hartley is a good player," he added. "I've come up against him twice this season already for Northampton and he's been going well. He's an abrasive player so I enjoy playing against him.

"Last year was good. We got in early on and he's a good boy to play against. He's in your face and I enjoy that, and thrive on it, a bit. It's good fun. You get the usual stuff from him (sledging] and that's something I enjoy. I like playing against those kinds of players and sometimes it does bring something out in me.

"We've talked before about how I'm perceived as not being aggressive. There are times when I've lost it, but I prefer my aggression to come across in being harder in the tackle, going forward more in the tackle, making more yards in attack carrying the ball than losing the rag.

"For me, that's what I do best and that comes with confidence, but if he (Hartley] is losing his rag then it's because I'm getting in his face in defence and attack, and that's what I want to do - have a go and see what he's got. See what he can do to stop me."