Rugby World Cup 2019: Steely George Ford ready to scale England’s final peak

George Ford almost looked flummoxed by the question. It was around an hour after England had beaten New Zealand to secure their place in the World Cup final. Time enough for the adrenaline to settle down and the magnitude of their achievement to sink in. And yet, somehow, something didn’t quite seem to fit. Ford didn’t look like a guy who had just played the game of his life, or scaled the greatest peak of his career.

When these two facts were pointed out to him, a puzzled expression crossed his face, as if he had just been snapped out of an extremely long sleep.

“It was just our next game,” he responded.

Obviously, as a pack of thirsty professional journalists hoping for some electric copy, we weren’t going to let him get off that easily. Still, as we scanned Ford for signs of euphoria or rapture, we found only the same glassy focus that had sustained him through 80 minutes of high-intensity rugby.

Clearly, watching England outclass New Zealand and actually being a part of it are two very different sensations. “When you’re in it that much, you’re just thinking about what you’re doing next,” he explained. “The scoreboard is almost irrelevant at times. It’s just about: what’s next, what’s next, whatever opportunity presents itself.” Which is why, too, he wasn’t going to get too excited about the prospect of lifting the World Cup, either. “We’ve given ourselves an opportunity. That’s all it is.”

Seeing as Ford wasn’t prepared to get animated about his performance, we’re going to have to do it for him. It’s ridiculous, in a way, to think that his very selection was in doubt just a few days ago, and may yet be again ahead of the final. Too often, it seems, we get hung up on what Ford can’t do. This was one of those games when it was impossible to ignore what he can.

It was a magnificent performance. Having played an instrumental role in the first try after just 96 seconds, he then ripped the ball out of Nepo Laulala’s hands just a few minutes later: a stinging riposte to those who questioned his appetite for a scrap. And throughout, he defended with the sort of gusto and front-foot aggression that Jones has always demanded. No Englishman made more than his 15 tackles.

With Owen Farrell limited by injury, Ford became more pivotal still: assuming not just kicking duties but strategic responsibilities, calling the plays and calling the shots. Against two of the world’s greatest creative backs in Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett, Ford ran the game, directing play, kicking beautifully out of hand and immaculately off the ground. “We used our kicking game a bit more,” he admitted. “But we used it to score points. That’s the key. It’s still an attacking weapon for us.”

The other key passage of play came midway through the second half, when New Zealand were handed their only try of the game via a lineout error. For England teams past, it was the sort of blow that would have hobbled them. Haunted them. Instead, they went straight back up the other end and scored three points. “That was massive for us,” Ford said. “But again, we were thinking: what’s next? We’re going to chase the kick off as hard as we can. And we’re going to get the ball back.”

What’s next? It’s the question that dominated Jones’ team-talk after the game: well done, good win, but for heaven’s sake don’t think the job’s done. It’s a mindset that his players have taken on, too. Beating the All Blacks won’t mean half as much if it’s followed by a meek defeat to South Africa next Saturday. For all the sustained brilliance of the semi-final, its legacy can only be secured by winning the whole thing. England owe it to themselves to finish the job.

“We’re over the moon with the win tonight, but we want to finish this off,” Ford said. And perhaps, in a way, that’s why Ford looked so subdued in Yokohama on Saturday night. Why he didn’t look like a guy who had just scaled the greatest peak of his career. He looked, instead, like a guy whose greatest peak still lay ahead.