"I'm excited to get on with it now," Ford told Press Association Sport.
"We've put in a lot of hard work over the past six to eight weeks. We're now looking forward to putting everything we've been doing into practice.
"It was a close game in the Six Nations. I'm excited to see how we've developed from there and I'm just looking forward to getting a hit out against another team.
"It's a good benchmark to see where you're at."
The Edinburgh stalwart was one of five Scotland players who were withdrawn from club service at the end of the Six Nations.
Ford's break came at an opportune time after he was also diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, due to to an elevated heart rate and persistent fatigue.
Up to then, he was playing continually for two years. This included the British & Irish Lions' tour to South Africa in 2009 and Scotland's trip to Argentina in 2010.
"The past two or three years have been pretty full-on. I've enjoyed it, but it's just built up," said Ford.
"It was good to be given that opportunity at the end of the season to go away and take it easier for a couple of weeks. I was a little bit surprised but I was quite pleased because I wasn't performing as well as I like.
"I was feeling quite tired, so it was good to have that chance to get over the bumps and bruises and be able to improve my fitness and work on skills.
"There was still training to be done - I got the same amount of time off as the rest of the boys - but while they were training for the games at the end of the week, I was only doing three days a week."
Scrum-half Rory Lawson will captain the side on Saturday, while Ford has been named vice-captain and pack leader.
He believes the role will have little impact on how he approaches the match.
"If there's something that needs saying during the game, I'll bring the forwards in and speak to them," said Ford.
"Bar that, not much else will change for me. I'll try and lead from the front and put in a solid performance."
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