Stringer’s shirt and ice-creams in Dublin – George Ford has pretty happy memories of his time in Ireland

Some happy memories for England's No 10

The countdown is on to Sunday's Six Nations clash between Ireland and England at the Aviva. But before the hostilities really take off, England out-half George Ford has been doing his bit for Anglo-Irish harmony by recalling with great fondness the time he spent in Dublin while his father Mike was Ireland's defence coach from 2002 until 2004. As inductions to rugby go, for a nine-year old Ford this was pretty spectacular. He kicked balls with the Irish team, got taken into the dressing room after matches and even seemed to become best mates with Peter Stringer. It was such a good time that Ford says he became a fully fledged Ireland fan 'I used to go to as many games as I could with my brother [Joe] when dad was with Ireland,” Ford told The Telegraph. 'Strings used to take me and my brother for ice-creams in Dublin. He is a brilliant guy. I remember when we were taken into the Ireland changing room after a game against England and he gave me his No 9 shirt. It fitted me even then he was that small. He says it was the weirdest thing to end up being in the same half-back pairing as me at Bath. 'I used to want Ireland to win because you want the best for your dad, although it was a bit different when they were playing England. All the Irish guys were great with us – ROG [O’Gara], David Humphreys – and we used to kick balls back for them. 'It was a brilliant experience for us, growing up like that, seeing players train the way they did, O’Connell, Alan Quinlan, Donncha O’Callaghan and the like.' If Ford's next visit to Dublin adds to his happy memories of the city then it could spell trouble for Paul O'Connell and Co. Hat tip to The Telegraph