Exceptional George Ford Crucial to Overcoming the Kiwis

During November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist the hosts secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, but instead missed a late penalty along with a drop-kick as his side were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to bring victory to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of strong showings, notably in the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old not only repaid the manager's confidence through his selection versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered after halftime to help his side to a decisive 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members in our team, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment as he scored those drop-goals, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford entered and performed really well [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright and he had a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are honored to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis started quickly in the stadium, surging to a 12-point lead via touchdowns by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-goals resulted in the home side returned to the halftime break with the momentum.

"The challenging thing during those periods is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we must maintain to our strategy and our philosophy the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into the game and we understood were we to commence the second half well, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves on our own line after a penalty, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - who can deal in those circumstances the best."

Both kicks came within a two-minute span while the number 10 who successfully converted three drop-kicks during a victory versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his international experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale in a league contest played in tough circumstances at Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"It [the drop-goals] is always in the plan," Ford stated further.

"The coach is such an incredible coach since he continually reminding me, and rightly so since three points is valuable during any phase of play."

Ford marshalled his team superbly around the field the complete contest, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and in finding space against the defensive line.

His characteristic tactical bomb additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Having started England's win against Australia on 1 November, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to his replacement for the Fiji victory seven days later.

But the biggest test theoretically this season occurred versus the three-time world champions, so Ford returned to his spot.

England, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to learn whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that ample opportunity of play remaining in him.