Phenomenal Ford Pivotal to Defeating All Blacks

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

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to assist the hosts secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, but instead missed a crucial penalty along with a drop-kick as England lost by two points.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to bring victory to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, particularly on the summer matches against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker achieved a best-player showing to assist the home team to their initial victory versus the Kiwis on home soil since 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered in the second half to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, notably George," the manager commented. "During that phase when he converted those crucial kicks, he controlled the match 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 difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are privileged to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand commenced strongly in the stadium, building a 12-point lead through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks resulted in the home side returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing at those times occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our plan and what we believe the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford stated.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Although facing fifteen minutes to go, we ended up near our try line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - which team can handle during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks occurred within a two-minute span as the fly-half who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a win facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, displayed his complete international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals for Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather versus Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader since he continually in my ear about it, and correctly so as three points prove important throughout the match of competition."

Ford marshalled his team superbly around the field the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His signature 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph over Australia on 1 November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

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

The English team, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, face Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to discover if Borthwick goes back with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that ample opportunity of career ahead for him.