Exceptional George Ford Central to Defeating New Zealand
Ford earned the starting role to begin against New Zealand over Marcus Smith and Fin Smith.
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In November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.
The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist England complete a memorable triumph versus the All Blacks, but instead failed to convert a late penalty along with a drop-kick as England lost by a narrow margin.
In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to bring victory for England.
He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of excellent displays, particularly on the warm-weather tour against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly as a starting option.
The veteran player fully validated the coach's trust through his selection versus New Zealand, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help the hosts to a breakthrough triumph over New Zealand in their own stadium since 2012.
The pivotal moment occurred as Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession just before the break.
This assisted England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered during the final period to support England to a decisive 33-19 win.
"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, especially George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those drop-kicks, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.
"Last year In my view George came on and played exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].
"A attempt hit the upright while he attempted a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.
"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are fortunate to have him within our roster."
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Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'
In 2024, Ford's misses from the tee were expensive as the team was defeated to New Zealand - but it was an alternate outcome during the match.
The Kiwis began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, building a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.
After Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive drop-goals resulted in the home side bounced into the halftime break with psychological advantage.
"The challenging thing in those moments comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our guns and our philosophy the best way to perform is," Ford explained.
"We worked our way back into it and we knew were we to commence the second half well, as reserves joined, we would be in a good position.
"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves near our try line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.
"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - who can deal in those circumstances the best."
Each effort came within two minutes of each other as Ford who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.
Ford hit two drop-goals representing Sale during a Premiership match occurring during tough circumstances against Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.
"It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford stated further.
"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager since he continually advising me, and correctly so as three points prove important at any stage of the game."
Ford marshalled his team superbly across the pitch the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.
His characteristic high spiral kick additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.
Following his start in England's win versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to his replacement during the Fiji match seven days later.
However the greatest challenge theoretically this season occurred versus the three-time world champions, so Ford returned to his position.
England, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina this month and curiosity remains to determine if the manager opts to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.
Whichever decision is made, Ford proved two years away prior to global competition that there is plenty of rugby left within him.
Associated subjects
- England Rugby Union
- Competition