Ross Ford

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Ross Ford grew up in Kelso in the Scottish Borders and attended the town's high school. He played for Kelso Harlequins (U18) and then Kelso RFC.

Professional career

In May 2002, Ford signed for Border Reivers, before he had finished school.

Ford initially played in the back row, but was convinced to switch to hooker while at Border Reivers.

After the Reivers disbandment in the summer of 2007, Ford was left without a club. He initially signed for the Glasgow Warriors in August 2007 but on 18 October 2007 it was announced that he had been transferred to Edinburgh who were back under the Scottish Rugby Union's control in that year.

Ford made his 150th appearance for Edinburgh in December 2015.

International career

Ford was a member of the Scotland 7s squad at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Ford captained Scotland under-16 and has also represented his country at under-18 and under-19 level. He is a member of the Scottish Institute of Sport.

Ford was first capped by the Scotland senior side in the 2004 Abbey Autumn Tests against Australia at Murrayfield, making his second appearance over a year later, coming on as a replacement against Wales in the 2006 RBS 6 Nations. After one further appearance against England he missed the 2006 summer tour to South Africa through a knee injury but returned to the Scotland squad in the 2007–08 season.

Ford made his first start in the RBS 6 Nations Championship in Scotland's final match of the 2007 competition, away to France. He followed that up by winning plaudits for his line out throwing and play in both tight and loose in Scotland's World Cup warm-up victory against Ireland.

Ford was named in Scotland's Rugby World Cup 2007 squad, and became the first-choice hooker after Dougie Hall pulled out of the World Cup with injury. In his first match at the tournament, he came on as a replacement against Portugal and scored his first try for Scotland.

In 2009, Ford was selected for the British & Irish Lions as a replacement for Jerry Flannery. He played for 50 minutes in the third test and was Scotland's only representative in the three test matches of that tour. Ford was the captain of the Scotland Team for the 2012 Six Nations Championship and the 2012 mid-year rugby test series.

In June 2014, Ford made his 76th appearance, overtaking Gordon Bulloch as Scotland's hughest-capped hooker; and in August 2015 he won his 88th cap against Italy, overtaking Scott Murray as Scotland's most capped forward. His centenary cap came against Australia in November 2016, joining Chris Paterson and Sean Lamont in winning a centenary of caps for Scotland.

On 24 June 2017, Ford made his 110th test appearance for Scotland, overtaking Chris Paterson as the highest-capped Scottish player.

Coaching career

On 27 June 2019, Ford announced his retirement from playing. Afterward, he took up a role as a strength and conditioning coach at the Scottish Rugby Academy.

Other

In 2011, Ford appeared on cereal boxes for Scott's Porage Oats alongside Scotland teammates Chris Paterson and Thom Evans.

References

References

1. "Player: Ross Ford". Edinburgh Rugby.
2. "Scotland legend Ross Ford retires from rugby {{!}} SCRUM".
3. Ferguson, David. (2 May 2002). "Borders put faith in youth". The Scotsman.
4. Reid, Alasdair (2009) "[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/scotland/4980919/Scotlands-happy-hooker-Ross-Ford-is-looking-forward-to-the-physical-battle-against-Ireland.html Scotland's happy hooker Ross Ford is looking forward to the physical battle against Ireland]", ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'', 13 March 2009, retrieved 2010-08-30
5. Morrison, Iain. (18 June 2010). "Rugby: Ross Ford's coach pulls a flanker". [[The Scotsman]].
6. (6 August 2007). "Ross Ford joins Glasgow Warriors". glasgowwarriors.com (unofficial fansite).
7. (18 October 2007). "Edinburgh latest stop for Ross Ford". glasgowwarriors.com (unofficial fansite).
8. Baldock, Andrew. (24 December 2015). "Hooker Ford to reach major milestone for Edinburgh". [[Belfast Telegraph]].
9. Fotheringham, William. (17 March 2007). "Scots carefree to prey on France's nerves". The Guardian.
10. (9 September 2007). "Scotland 56-10 Portugal". BBC News.
11. "Ross Ford". [[Scottish Rugby]].
12. Hands, David (2009) "[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article6345725.ece Ross Ford called up to join Lions tour]{{dead link. (September 2024)
13. Ferrie, Kevin. (25 January 2012). "Ross Ford to captain Scotland in Six Nations". The Herald.
14. Mason, Jim. (17 May 2012). "No summer holiday for Scots tourists". BBC News.
15. Smith, Duncan. (27 August 2015). "Cotter hails Ryan Wilson on return from ban". The Scotsman.
16. (June 2014). "Ford reaches Scotland milestone". BBC News.
17. Scott, Andrew. (10 November 2016). "Ross Ford to earn 100th Scotland cap against Australia". STV News.
18. (24 June 2017). "Fiji 27-22 Scotland: Scots pay price for errors in Suva". The Scotsman.
19. Bathgate, Stuart. (16 March 2017). "Ross Ford closes in on Chris Paterson's cap record". The Herald.
20. (5 January 2010). "New porridge proves truly scrum-ptious: Scots rugby stars appear on iconic cereal pack". The Scotsman.