🔗 Share this article

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

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to support the home side close out an historic victory against New Zealand, however missed a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as his side were beaten by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, the player was required to strive to secure another chance to bring victory for the national side.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of impressive performances, notably in the summer matches against Argentina and the USA while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly as a starting option.

The veteran player not only repaid the coach's trust through his selection versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker achieved a best-player showing to assist England to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis at home for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled in the second half to help his side to a decisive 33-19 win.

"You have to give credit to the senior players within our side, notably George," the coach stated. "In that moment where he hit those drop-goals, he directed play remarkably well.

"One year earlier I thought George entered and performed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player and an even finer individual. We are privileged to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis began rapidly in the stadium, building a twelve-point advantage through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing in those moments occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and what we believe the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we understood if we started the second half well, with substitutes entering, we would be in a good position.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we were positioned on our own line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

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

Each effort came within close succession while the number 10 who executed three drop-kicks in a win versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two drop-goals for Sale during a Premiership match conducted in difficult conditions versus Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

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

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager that he is always advising me, and rightly so since three points prove important at any stage of play."

Ford directed his side brilliantly throughout the match the entire match, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark high spiral kick also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia during the autumn series, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match a week later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his spot.

The national side, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to discover if the manager opts with the alternative or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that ample opportunity of rugby left within him.