Exceptional Ford Pivotal to Beating New Zealand

During November 2024, England fly-half George Ford cut a dejected figure at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist the home side close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, however was unable to score a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as England were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance at delivering glory for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple strong showings, notably in the summer matches against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back as a starting option.

At 32 years old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to help the hosts to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis on home soil for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford successfully executed consecutive drop-kicks just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered in the second half to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players on our squad, notably George," the coach stated. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he managed the game just incredibly.

"Last year I believed Ford entered and performed exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].

"A attempt hit the upright while he attempted a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are privileged to include him on our team."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks started quickly during the match, surging to a 12-point lead through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive three-pointers resulted in the home side entered the locker room with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect in those moments is, when the scoreboard says twelve to zero, we can stick to our guns and what we believe the superior method to compete is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - which team can handle with those moments most effectively."

Both kicks happened within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who nailed three drop-goals during a victory facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his international experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale during a Premiership match occurring during tough circumstances against Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford added.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager that he consistently reminding me, and correctly so because three points is valuable at any stage of play."

Ford guided his team superbly across the pitch the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both to compete and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Having started England's win versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty came against the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his position.

England, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to learn if the manager opts to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining from a World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left within him.