Outstanding George Ford Crucial to Beating New Zealand
George Ford was selected to open against New Zealand over the Smith alternatives.
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In November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed at Allianz Stadium.
Ford had been summoned as a substitute to assist England close out a famous win against New Zealand, yet missed 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 get another shot to bring victory for England.
He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of strong showings, particularly on the summer matches against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were away on British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly in the starting mix.
The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence through his selection facing the Kiwis, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to help the hosts to a first win against the All Blacks at home ending a drought dating to 2012.
The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.
It helped England recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes again delivered after halftime to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 victory.
"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members on our squad, notably George," Borthwick told. "During that phase when he converted those drop-kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.
"Twelve months ago I thought George substituted and competed really well [versus the All Blacks].
"One kick struck the post and he tried a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.
"He's an exceptional captain, a superb performer and an even better person. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."
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Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'
Back in 2024, the player's errors with the boot proved costly as the team was defeated to New Zealand - but it was a different story during the match.
New Zealand began rapidly in the stadium, building a substantial early margin through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.
Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the halftime break with psychological advantage.
"The challenging thing during those periods is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we can stick to our guns and what we believe the best way to play the game is," Ford stated.
"We worked our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we were in a favorable situation.
"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up defending our goal line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.
"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who manages best with those moments superiorly."
The two attempts occurred within close succession while the number 10 who executed three drop-goals during a victory versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, displayed his complete century of caps experience.
Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks representing Sale during a Premiership match played in difficult conditions at Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.
"The drop-kicks is always in the plan," Ford added.
"Steve is such an outstanding manager that he consistently advising me, and rightly so because three points is valuable at any stage of competition."
Ford guided England excellently around the field the entire match, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and in finding space against the defensive line.
His signature tactical bomb also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.
Following his start in the English victory over Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to his replacement against Fiji seven days later.
However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his spot.
England, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.
Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining from a World Cup that ample opportunity of rugby left within him.
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- England Rugby Union
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