🔗 Share this article

During November 2024, national team playmaker George Ford cut a dejected figure during the match.

He was called upon from the bench to help the hosts secure an historic victory versus the All Blacks, but instead missed a late penalty along with a drop-kick while his team lost by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance at delivering glory to the English team.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations but a string of excellent displays, especially during the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams when the Smith players had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old fully validated the coach's trust through his selection versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help the hosts to a first win over New Zealand on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed after halftime to support England to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players on our squad, notably George," the coach stated. "In that moment where he hit those crucial kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year In my view George substituted and competed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are fortunate to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, building a twelve-point advantage through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive drop-kicks meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing at those times comes when the board shows 12-0, we must maintain to our strategy and what we believe the superior method to play the game is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into the game and we knew if we started the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we would be in a good position.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves near our try line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who can deal during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks occurred within close succession as the fly-half who executed three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals with Sale during a Premiership match occurring during challenging weather at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"These attempts are consistently planned," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and correctly so because three points are crucial at any stage of play."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the complete contest, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His trademark tactical bomb also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

Following his start in England's win versus the Wallabies in early November, Ford relinquished the starting role to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty came against the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his position.

The national side, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, face Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to learn if the manager opts for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining prior to global competition that ample opportunity of rugby left in him.