Among the various ways of viewing George Ford’s resurgence as first-choice England fly-half against New Zealand at Twickenham this weekend, the one put forward by head coach Steve Borthwick is that Ford’s calmness and experience – of good times and bad – with his kicking game gives him an edge over Marcus Smith and Fin Smith.
A different, more awkward take for those interested in England’s wellbeing would be that neither of the Smiths has managed to make the position his own this year, and for all the contention by Borthwick of having three world-class No 10s to choose from, Ford is back in front by default.
Fortunately for Ford, he doesn’t need to worry about answering either proposition directly.
Marcus and Fin Smith are yet to fully convince in England’s No 10 jersey (Photo: PA)What he can do this weekend is grab a golden chance to cement his place in the pantheon of England No 10s – after a mere 103 caps – by guiding his team to victory against one of their most troublesome opponents.
England have not beaten New Zealand at Twickenham since 2012, while their last win anywhere else was in the World Cup in Japan in 2019.
And it would be a big turnaround for Ford from this time last year, when he was a peripheral and slightly panicky figure as he made his way back from injury as a substitute against New Zealand at Twickenham.
He was part of a botched attempt at a winning drop-goal in the last minute, leaving the All Blacks, yet again, as the victors.
Moving into the subsequent Six Nations Championship in February and March, Ford was barely used by England as the two Smiths shared the No 10 jersey.A lesser player and character might have chucked in the towel.
And time is marginally against the 32-year-old Ford, although he is young and fit enough to make the next World Cup in 2027.
Plus, he has obvious career prospects, post-playing – none other than Borthwick tipped Ford on Tuesday to be a future head coach of England, if he “puts his mind to it”.
Ford suffered late heartbreak against New Zealand last autumn (Photo: Getty)There is an element of it in the family, as Ford’s brother Joe is coaching at their club Sale Sharks, while dad Mike has been head coach at Bath and worked on defence with England and Ireland among others.
But there was a fresh twist during the summer just gone, as England’s players were split between the British & Irish Lions in Australia and the rest going with Borthwick to Argentina and the USA.
It was far from a last tango on the pampas for Ford, as he played masterfully in La Plata and San Juan and the Pumas were conquered two tests to nil, while the Smiths barely made a dent with the Lions, who had Finn Russell at fly-half.
Ford also passed 100 Test caps in Argentina, and he was celebrated by quite the cast of characters in an England team video.
People call on old contacts for this kind of thing, and one of England’s security team had worked at 10 Downing Street.
Hence there was a “well done” message from the former prime minister, Tony Blair, in the video alongside words from John Terry and Frank Lampard – Ford, despite being from Saddleworth near Manchester, is a Chelsea fan – as well as Joe Root and Bear Grylls.
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That lot would have enough tales of ups and downs to fill an encyclopaedia on adversity. But top Test teams, including New Zealand, have shifted from one fly-half to another, so it’s not a baffling situation, per se.
He has always been an authoritative, clear and commanding voice for England, when given the opportunity, but for a long time he had to share or cede top dog status to Owen Farrell. Then, among a range of comparisons, Marcus Smith offered more creative dash, and Fin Smith a bigger defensive presence.
In returning to Ford as his primary pivot, Borthwick said: “I’m really hopeful this weekend is not a game where we’re dependent on a ball hitting the post or not for the result. I don’t want it to be that tight. But.. George is somebody who, with over 100 caps now, has plenty of those experiences, and he’s seen so many things happen and he can recall them and share his experiences with the team.”
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