🔗 Share this article

Back in November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned from the bench to help England secure a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, however was unable to score a crucial penalty and drop-goal while his team were beaten in a close contest.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to achieve success to the English team.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple impressive performances, particularly on the summer matches of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions team responsibilities, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to help England to a first win over New Zealand in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed after halftime to support England to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the senior players in our team, especially George," the coach stated. "In that moment where he hit those crucial kicks, he managed the game remarkably well.

"One year earlier I believed Ford entered and performed really well [versus the All Blacks].

"A kick hit the post and he had a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are privileged to have him within our roster."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

New Zealand began rapidly during the match, surging to a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's consecutive drop-goals meant the hosts returned to the locker room with the momentum.

"The challenging thing during those periods is, when the scoreboard says twelve to zero, we can stick to our plan and what we believe the superior method to play the game is," Ford stated.

"We fought our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who can deal with those moments most effectively."

Each effort happened within two minutes of each other as Ford who successfully converted three drop-goals in a successful match facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals with Sale in a league contest conducted in difficult conditions against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

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

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always reminding me, and rightly so because three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the complete contest, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps against the defensive line.

His trademark high spiral kick also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the national team's triumph against Australia in early November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match a week later.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season came against the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his position.

England, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, play against Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to discover whether the coach returns with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining before the World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining in him.