🔗 Share this article

Back in November 2024, England fly-half Ford looked disheartened during the match.

Ford had been summoned as a substitute to help the hosts secure an historic victory versus the All Blacks, yet was unable to score a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team lost in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to bring victory for the national side.

He played only 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, especially during the summer matches of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith by selecting him facing the Kiwis, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves again delivered in the second half to support England to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players within our side, especially George," Borthwick told. "During that phase where he hit those drop-goals, he directed play just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George came on and played really well [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright while he attempted a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are fortunate to have him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a 12-point lead with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers resulted in the home side returned to the halftime break with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect at those times is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our philosophy the best way to compete is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into contention and we understood if we started the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we were in a good position.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we were positioned defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - who can deal during those situations most effectively."

The two attempts happened within close succession while the number 10 who executed three drop-goals during a victory versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his international experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers with Sale during a Premiership match occurring during difficult conditions against Bath - this represents an ability he has mastered thoroughly.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager since he continually reminding me, and rightly so as three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed his team superbly throughout the match all game, making smart decisions - both to compete and identifying openings against the defensive line.

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

After beginning England's win against Australia in early November, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to his replacement for the Fiji victory the following week.

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

The national side, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, play against Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that ample opportunity of play remaining in him.