George Ford insists losing his England jersey to Danny Cipriani was not a kick up the backside that he needed.
Yet in his first home league game back with Leicester he amassed 29 points and looked twice the player he has all year.
“I don’t think it was a wake-up call for me at all,” claimed the fly-half, who had never scored so many points in a single Premiership match.
“You want to start for your country, of course you do, but to win a World Cup we’ve got to be a squad of 31, we’ve got to be as tight as anything.
“Eddie (Jones) went for that decision from his gut instinct point of view. You respect that and come back a better player. I was more than happy with the way I played in the summer.”
He might have been, but World Cup winner Matt Dawson was not and made a point of saying so in his most recent Mirror column.
“We all know the talent he has but George need to quickly reassert himself in the pecking order,” Dawson wrote. “He must show he can dictate big games.
“A year out from the World Cup he needs to be man of the match regularly if he’s to convince Eddie he’s his man for Japan. Cipriani, remember, is the man in possession.”
Ford, 25, duly picked up man of the match honours on a day which also saw the return to form of Manu Tuilagi with a stunning 53-metre try in Tigers’ 49-33 defeat of Newcastle.
At the end of a week filled with praise for Cipriani and the eye-catching start he has made at Gloucester, Ford was even more dominant than has been his rival for the England 10 slot.
“A big focus for me was running with the ball more and being a bit more threatening, which I was pleased with,” he said. “I want to continue to push areas of my game.”
This, albeit only one game and one filled with emotion following regime change at Welford Road, is significant for England.
Jones names his autumn training squad on Thursday week and needs his quarterbacks on top form. Cipriani again delivered, sprinkling more magic dust on the Premiership down at Bath.
Elsewhere there was mixed news for Jones. Billy Vunipola made a try-scoring return from injury for Saracens, but Brad Shields broke a cheekbone on his Wasps debut.
LEICESTER – Tries: Ford, May 2, Thompstone, Tuilagi. Cons: Ford 3. Pens: Ford 6.
NEWCASTLE – Tries: Takalua, Goneva 2, Wilson, Mavinga. Cons: Flood 4.
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