Outstanding Ford Central to Overcoming the Kiwis

In November 2024, English number 10 Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to help the hosts complete a memorable triumph versus the All Blacks, but instead was unable to score a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team fell short in a close contest.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to get another shot to achieve success for England.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of excellent displays, particularly on the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly in the starting mix.

The veteran player fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to assist the home team to their initial victory versus the Kiwis at home for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled after halftime to support England to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players in our team, notably George," the manager commented. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"One year earlier I thought George substituted and competed very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are fortunate to include him on our team."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The Kiwis started quickly in the stadium, surging to a substantial early margin through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-goals resulted in the home side returned to the locker room with the momentum.

"The challenging thing in those moments is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our guns and our philosophy the best way to perform is," Ford stated.

"We got ourselves back into it and we understood should we begin the second half well, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we found ourselves on our own line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - who manages best during those situations superiorly."

The two attempts came within a two-minute span as Ford who nailed three crucial kicks in a win facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, displayed his complete international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks with Sale in a Prem game occurring during difficult conditions versus Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he consistently reminding me, and correctly so since three points is valuable during any phase of competition."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the English victory against Australia during the autumn series, Ford handed over the starting role to Fin Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty came against the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his position.

England, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left for him.