Outstanding George Ford Central to Defeating the Kiwis

During November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned from the bench to support England complete an historic victory against New Zealand, however missed a decisive kick and drop-goal as his side were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, the player was required to strive to secure another chance to bring victory for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of strong showings, notably in the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back as a starting option.

At 32 years old not only repaid the manager's confidence through his selection versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support England to their initial victory over New Zealand at home since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes again delivered during the final period to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the veteran members in our team, especially George," Borthwick told. "During that phase as he scored those drop-kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"One year earlier I thought George entered and performed very effectively [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, but he played really well.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are privileged to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand started quickly in the stadium, surging to a 12-point lead through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals ensured England returned to the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing at those times comes when the board shows twelve to zero, we can stick to our strategy and our philosophy the optimal approach to perform is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into it and we knew if we started the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - who manages best in those circumstances most effectively."

Each effort came within a two-minute span while the number 10 who executed three crucial kicks in a win facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks for Sale in a Prem game conducted in tough circumstances versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

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

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader that he is always in my ear about it, and rightly so since three points are crucial at any stage of competition."

Ford directed his team superbly across the pitch the complete contest, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

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

Having started England's win against Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match the following week.

But the biggest test on paper this autumn was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

England, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina this month creating intrigue to learn if the manager opts to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining from a World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining within him.