\n<\/p>\n
As he sits on the brink of 100 Test appearances, George Ford says his first remains “the proudest memory of my career”.<\/b><\/p>\n
Albeit a short one.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t on the field very long! I managed to sneak on for a minute,” he says.<\/p>\n
“I was trying to be present in the moment. <\/p>\n
“As a kid you dream of it, it is a bit surreal when you actually do it, especially at Twickenham in front of 80,000 people and your family.”<\/p>\n
It was March 2014 against Wales in the Six Nations. After replacing Owen Farrell, Ford fed Billy Twelvetrees a short ball and kicked long up to opposition wing George North in his two involvements before the final whistle.<\/p>\n
But while Twelvetrees and North are now seeing out their careers in second-tier club rugby, Ford, who is 32, is still a Test operator.<\/p>\n
“The game has changed a lot in 11 years,” he says.<\/p>\n
“There was a lot more time and space back then. Defences bring more line speed, the physicality seems to have gone up another level and the speed of the game has gone up.<\/p>\n
“Forwards are ending up like backs and backs are ending up like forwards these days.<\/p>\n
“In Test rugby, every area is so contested – the breakdown, in the air or the set-piece – if you are not quite on it, you get punished.<\/p>\n
“Maybe there was a bit of margin for error 11 years ago but there definitely isn’t now.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n