Joe keen to follow in family footsteps

JOE Ford is leading the charge to take Doncaster Knights to the promised land but says they have a long way to go before that becomes reality.

- BEN JAYCOCK

Ford, 34, who is the older brother of England star George, took over as head coach at the beginning of last season and is supported by consultant director of rugby Sir Ian McGeehan.

Doncaster are currently the only side eligible for promotion to the Premiership having passed the RFU’s strict entry policies but lie ninth in the Championship with just two wins from their opening five outings – albeit one of those was away against title favourites Ealing Trailfinders.

Ford, right, told The Rugby Paper: “It’s a great indication from the club that we are the only ones that can go up. But we’re a new team with a new coaching staff. We’ve got a long way to go before we even start talking about that. We’re just focusing on each week, getting better and seeing where we are.

“We finished sixth last season, so that’s probably a good indication of where we’re at in this league. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we need to get a few big players back from injury, hopefully then we can kick on.