George Ford has hailed Steve Borthwick as the greatest manager he has ever played for after leading England to their biggest victory in his three years in charge.
England’s 2024 autumn training camp was marked by late falls and near misses, none more harrowing than the 24-22 victory over New Zealand, where Ford’s missed penalty and missed drop goal in the second half ended their victory.
Twelve months later, Ford exorcised those demons and silenced those who doubted his suitability as an England fly-half with an inspired display, propelling Borthwick’s burgeoning side to their first win against the All Blacks since 2012.
Borthwick’s faith in Ford was quickly demonstrated with a performance that oozed experience and composure in the face of All Blacks pressure at the Allianz Stadium, even at the expense of Finn Smith’s absence.
England were down by 12 points in the first quarter, but thanks to Ford’s acumen in a Test match, there was no panic. They capitalized on not one but two drop-goal chances, ensuring England were only one point ahead by the end of the first half.
TMO disallowed a try in Ford’s man-of-the-match performance, but a late penalty secured a two-goal lead and ensured he would leave his mark on Borthwick’s England’s coming-of-age victory.
“In preparing for this week, I never once looked back or thought about what happened 12 months ago,” Ford told Sky Sports News. “This is a brand new game and two teams at a different stage than last year.
“In sports, there are times when you underperform and times when you overperform. That’s the ups and downs, that’s reality. It’s important to believe in yourself and your team and keep working hard.”
“I wanted to go into the game with a plan to win the game. Then you get so wrapped up in the game and you want to play well and try to lead the game that you don’t have much time to think about other things.”
For Ford, his match-winning performance was only possible thanks to the meticulous preparation of coach Borthwick, whom he praises as the best he has ever played for club or country.
“He deserves all the praise,” Ford added. “He’s an unbelievable coach, the best I’ve ever had. His preparation this week allowed us to do what we needed to do. He’s the guy to lead it.”
“The players really love this program. How we are challenged, how he is always trying to evolve us and make our game an all-court game where we can play in different ways. That all comes from Steve. As a player, it’s pretty incredible for a head coach to do that.”
George Ford connects with a drop goal to close the gap between England and New Zealand
Ford said a win against New Zealand would strengthen his confidence that England are heading in the right direction under Borthwick.
“Sometimes you need results to build belief and confidence,” he says. “We felt like we were going in the right direction and a lot of what we’ve been doing in training was good. We wanted to show that against one of the best teams in the world and I thought we did that.”
“We need to keep our feet on the ground and keep working hard. It’s because of the preparation we made this week that we were able to play like that.”
Borthwick’s unwavering faith in Ford has been called into question, but the 32-year-old’s performance in helping England win 10 consecutive Test matches proved that he remains an integral part of England’s squad at the start of a new World Cup cycle.
England fly-half George Ford celebrates the final whistle confirming victory against New Zealand
“George Ford is a great player, a great leader and an even better human being,” Borthwick said in the post-match press conference. “It was an honor to work with him for a period of time.
“You want to talk about 12 months ago, but 12 months ago, as he always does with England, he played very well from the start of the game and then the ball hit the post.
“He’s always a consistent performer in an England shirt. Am I happy with him? I’m happy with him and all the players.”
England will return to the Allianz Stadium on Sunday for the first time in a week, facing Argentina as they aim for their first complete win in autumn since 2010.
