England rugby union star George Ford set for role in Oldham's revival plans
England rugby union star George Ford is set to play a part in reviving Oldham RLFC’s fortunes.
His dad Mike Ford was today unveiled as the leader of a consortium which has bought their hometown club from long-term owner Chris Hamilton. The ex-England and British Lions assistant coach, 57, initially made his name in the 13-man game as a scrum-half with the likes of Oldham, Wigan, Castleford and Great Britain. Along with local businessman Mick Harrington, he’s purchased the League 1 outfit who’ve endured plenty of tough times since tumbling out of Super League in 1997.
And now fly-half George, 30, could be popping down the road from Sale Sharks to help with training along with another son of Oldham. Ford, who coached the club in 2000 and 2001, said: “We've talked about having guest sessions with people like George and Kyle Eastmond. George will do a bit of that. They'll bring something different and every now and again, the lads will get some sessions with them.”
And Ford, whose own role is yet to be defined, is set to call on some other famous names who hail from the area. He said: “Scully (Paul Sculthorpe) was our neighbour for 10 years when he was playing for St Helens and I've spoken to Barrie (McDermott). Kevin Sinfield is working with George at England and he lives local so I'm sure there's plenty of people who can help out.”
Ford’s last bug gig in union was as Leicester Tigers assistant in 2021 and he’s also coached with Toulon, Bath and Ireland. He said: “I always felt I'd come back one day, but not in this position. For the last 20 years, Oldham rugby has been stuck for whatever reason. But we've got a chance now to get the older generation back first and foremost, but then get the future through the turnstiles, which is the younger generations.
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“It's not about me though, it's about the town. They want a rugby club that's all-inclusive and we want to get everyone pushing in the same direction. It's not about Super League or Wembley; it's about young kids wanting to play for Oldham.”
The recently-announced return of the Roughyeds to Oldham Athletic’s Boundary Park in 2024 was seen as a key part of the deal. Meanwhile, Ford hasn’t ruled out his son one day swapping codes. He said: “George is an Oldham boy and he'd love to have a go. He'll get to the World Cup (in 2025) and might go for another four years because he's got that contract with Sale. But then who knows. He's always fancied a go at rugby league.”
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