George Ford to replace Toby Flood in England Elite Player Squad Stuart Lancaster, the England head coach, has stressed that players put their international careers in jeopardy if they opt to ply their trade outside England. He has stuck to that policy, the only fallback being if there were to be an injury crisis and Flood could be summoned "under exceptional circumstances." Flood is England's most experienced player with 60 caps. Ford is still behind Owen Farrell and Freddie Burns in the fly-half pecking order. However, Burns's form has dipped since speculation reared over his putative move to Leicester as replacement for Flood. Ford has looked assured throughout the season, leading the Bath back line with a maturity beyond his years. Ford has pedigree. He won the International Rugby Board junior World Player of the Year in 2011, the only northern hemisphere player to have achieved such an accolade. He is 18 months younger than Farrell, who is now considered a key member of the England set-up. Ford is eager to set out on that pathway himself. Lancaster is all too aware also that he has to blood these sort of players at some point over the next six months if they are to be in any sort of shape to contest the Rugby World Cup in 2015. England open their Six Nations championship campaign against France in Paris on Feb 1 and then travel to New Zealand in June for a three-Test series.