| Birth name | Joseph Ford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 4 June 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oldham, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Rishworth School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Mike Ford (father) George Ford (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joe Ford (born 4 June 1990) is a rugby union attack coach for Sale Sharks [1] leaving his role as Head Coach for Doncaster Knights. He has previously also been a player for Yorkshire Carnegie, in three other spells, as well as Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby.
Ford was a member of the Bradford Bulls Academy and played amateur rugby league for the St Albans Centurions.[ citation needed ]
Ford made his professional rugby debut for Leeds Carnegie on 8 November 2009 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup against Leicester Tigers, Ford scored 13 points in 28-17 win. His brother George Ford made his debut for Leicester in the same game. [2] [3]
Ford moved to Northampton Saints in 2010 [4] [5] but returned to Leeds at the end of the season having only featured in five games for the Saints. [6]
After two years in the Championship, including being the third highest points scorer in the 2012-13 season, Ford moved back to the Premiership with Sale Sharks. [7] After three years with the Sharks Ford returned for a third spell with Leeds, now called Yorkshire Carnegie. [8]
In 2017, it was rumoured that Leicester Tigers were interested in signing him as back-up to his brother George. [9] And on 1 June 2017 it was confirmed that Ford would join his brother at Leicester. [10] Ford made his first start on 4 November 2017 against Gloucester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, and was named captain for the match. [11] On 15 May 2019 he was announced as one of the players to leave Leicester following the end of the 2018-19 Premiership Rugby season. [12]
On 2 August 2019 Ford was announced as re-joining Yorkshire Carnegie in the role of player-head coach. [13] A role he left on 23 January 2020. [14]
He later signed a two-year deal to join RFU Championship side Doncaster Knights as a coach from the 2020–21 season. [15] This deal was then turned into a Head Coach role after the departure of Steve Boden in 2024. The 2024-25 will be the start of his first full season in charge.
Born the eldest of three boys , his brother is England international George Ford. Their youngest brother Jacob (b.1998), is also a professional rugby player. He is the son of former England defence coach Mike Ford.