🔗 Share this article

In November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened during the match.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist the hosts secure an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet failed to convert a decisive kick and drop-goal while his team lost by two points.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to achieve success for England.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple strong showings, notably in the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old not only repaid the coach's trust by selecting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help the hosts to a first win against the All Blacks in their own stadium since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford converted two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed after halftime to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players within our side, especially George," the coach stated. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he managed the game just incredibly.

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

"A kick hit the post and he had a drop-goal under pressure, but he played really well.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are fortunate to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis started quickly in the stadium, building a 12-point lead through scores from two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks ensured England returned to the halftime break with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect at those times is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our plan and our convictions the optimal approach to perform is," Ford stated.

"We fought our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we were in a favorable situation.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves defending our goal line with a yellow card, so we had challenges during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who can deal with those moments the best."

Both kicks came within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three crucial kicks in a successful match against Argentina in the last global tournament, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals representing Sale in a league contest played in challenging weather at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has extensively practiced.

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

"The coach is such an outstanding manager since he continually reminding me, and correctly so because three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, making smart decisions - both to compete and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who couldn't collect.

Having started the English victory versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to his replacement for the Fiji victory seven days later.

But the biggest test theoretically this season was presented by the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

England, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, meet Argentina this month and curiosity remains to learn if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining for him.