🔗 Share this article Exceptional George Ford Central to Beating New Zealand The fly-half position went to Ford to open facing the Kiwis instead of Marcus Smith and Fin Smith. Posted just now Multiple comments In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf. Ford had been summoned from the bench to assist the hosts complete a famous win against New Zealand, yet was unable to score a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost by a narrow margin. In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot at delivering glory for the national side. He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations yet multiple strong showings, particularly on the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly in the starting mix. The 32-year-old not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the hosts to a first win against the All Blacks on home soil since 2012. The pivotal moment came when Ford converted two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime. This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled in the second half to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 triumph. "You have to give credit to the veteran members on our squad, notably George," the manager commented. "During that phase where he hit those crucial kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly. "Twelve months ago I believed Ford came on and played exceptionally well [against New Zealand]. "A kick hit the post and he tried a difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding. "He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him in our squad." England defeat the Kiwis extending their winning streak to ten The way Twickenham adapted to embrace high kicks and Borthwick England fight back to claim famous win against New Zealand Drop-goals 'part of the strategy' Back in 2024, Ford's misses with the boot were expensive as the team was defeated to New Zealand - however it proved a different story during the match. New Zealand commenced strongly in the stadium, surging to a 12-point lead via touchdowns by two key players. After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive three-pointers meant the hosts returned to the locker room with psychological advantage. "The tough part in those moments occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our plan and our philosophy the superior method to compete is," Ford stated. "We fought our way back into contention and we recognized should we begin the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we would be in an advantageous spot. "Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also. "I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - which team can handle with those moments most effectively." Both kicks occurred within a two-minute span as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience. Ford converted two drop-kicks with Sale in a league contest played in tough circumstances against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly. "It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford stated further. "Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader since he continually advising me, and appropriately since three points prove important at any stage of competition." Ford marshalled his side brilliantly throughout the match the complete contest, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps against the defensive line. His trademark tactical bomb also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who failed to regather. Having started England's win versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford passed on the starting role to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later. But the biggest test in terms of difficulty was presented by the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his starting role. The national side, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, play against Argentina this month and it will be interesting to determine if the manager opts for the younger Smith or continues with Ford. Whichever decision is made, Ford established ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of rugby left in him. Connected themes National Team The Sport