Leicester boss happy with Ford situation

Leicester's director of rugby Richard Cockerill has defended the criticism levelled at him concerning George Ford's lack of game time.

Despite Ford's impressive end to last season, the Tigers boss has relied mainly on the more established Toby Flood so far this term, although he did recall the 19-year-old for Friday's win at Sale. Cockerill also requested that the youngster be omitted from the England squad that toured South Africa during the summer, leading to suggestions that he was holding the playmaker back. However, he has now defended his policy and insists what he's doing is in the best interests of helping the player develop. "George has started 11 matches and played in a considerable amount of games," Cockerill told The Rugby Paper. "He started in the semi-final of the Premiership and LV= Cup and started both finals, one of which we won and one of which we lost. "He's developing, he's still a young man and you have to trust our systems to bring young guys through and play."