Phenomenal George Ford Crucial to Defeating New Zealand

During November 2024, English number 10 George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to support the home side complete an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet was unable to score a crucial penalty along with a drop-kick as his side were beaten by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to achieve success for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple excellent displays, especially during the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly in the starting mix.

The veteran player did more than justify Steve Borthwick's faith by selecting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker achieved a best-player showing to assist the hosts to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

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

It helped England overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled after halftime to help his side to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members on our squad, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier In my view George came on and played really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer plus a better human being. We are privileged to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis began rapidly in the stadium, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive three-pointers ensured England bounced into the changing rooms with the momentum.

"The challenging thing during those periods is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the optimal approach to compete is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into the game and we understood were we to commence the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we were positioned near our try line following a card, so we had challenges during that phase also.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - who can deal with those moments superiorly."

Each effort occurred within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who executed three drop-kicks in a win facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, displayed his complete 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks for Sale in a Prem game conducted in tough circumstances versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

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

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader that he is always advising me, and appropriately as three points prove important during any phase of the game."

Ford directed his team superbly around the field the entire match, making smart decisions - both to compete and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

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

After beginning England's win over Australia on 1 November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to the younger Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

However the greatest challenge on paper this autumn came against the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The national side, now on a run of 10 straight wins, face Argentina this month creating intrigue to determine if Borthwick goes back with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left for him.