🔗 Share this article

Back in November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to support England close out an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead missed a decisive kick along with a drop-kick while his team lost by a narrow margin.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to bring victory for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, especially during the summer tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

At 32 years old not only repaid Steve Borthwick's faith through his selection versus New Zealand, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to assist the hosts to their initial victory against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession right before half-time.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes again delivered after halftime to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members in our team, especially George," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those drop-goals, he directed play remarkably well.

"Last year I thought George entered and performed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to feature him in our squad."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks started quickly in the stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage through scores from two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive three-pointers meant the hosts returned to the locker room with the momentum.

"The challenging thing in those moments occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and what we believe the superior method to compete is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into contention and we knew were we to commence the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we were in a good position.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - which team can handle with those moments most effectively."

The two attempts came within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-goals during a victory facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks representing Sale in a Prem game conducted in challenging weather versus Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

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

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader since he continually advising me, and correctly so because three points is valuable during any phase of play."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match all game, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty came against the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his spot.

The national side, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to discover if the manager opts to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining before the World Cup that there is plenty of career ahead in him.