George Ford calls drop goals a ‘crucial weapon’ after England overcome Argentina

MARSEILLE – Drop goals are not usually a big part of a team’s armoury but, in tight Rugby World Cup contests, they can be a “crucial weapon”, according to England fly-half George Ford after he kicked three in 10 minutes in a 27-10 Pool D victory over Argentina on Saturday.

Having lost flanker Tom Curry to a red card inside three minutes, England put on a masterclass of defensive organisation and forward control to win comfortably.

They were aided early on by the trio of drop goals from Ford that moved them into a 12-3 lead and transferred the pressure to the South American side.

“The crucial one was the third one, which took us more than seven points ahead,” said Ford. “In a tight game where it is hard to move the ball and score tries, to get more than seven ahead was big for us.”

Ford, starting at No. 10 in the suspension-enforced absence of team skipper Owen Farrell, said all the England fly-halves practise drop goals at every training session in preparation for games like Saturday’s clash in Marseille.

“We have the No. 9s (scrum-halves) pass us the ball and get the boys to put pressure on us to make it as realistic as possible,” he said. “It is such a crucial weapon and we have seen before how influential they are at World Cups.”

South Africa fly-half Jannie de Beer kicked a tournament-record five drop goals to beat England in the quarter-finals in 1999 and Ford equalled the best previous mark for his team set by Jonny Wilkinson, who holds the overall World Cup record of 14, against France in 2003.

“Five is a lot, isn’t it? But I thought I was on track at one point,” he joked. “We were laughing in the changing room. Out of this squad (scrum-half) Danny Care was the guy with the most drop goals for England. I thought I had to put an end to that.”

Ford added that the warm conditions and World Cup ball are conducive to kicking.

“I think the temperature makes a massive difference. The ball is also different from the one we use in the Premiership. I am not sure what it is but it travels a lot faster in the air and a lot further.”

Ford landed all his drop-goal attempts and kicked six from six off the tee for a perfect performance.

“That is the life of a kicker. Some days you can’t hit a barn door, others everything goes over,” he said.

England coach Steve Borthwick, whose side face Japan on Sunday, hailed Ford’s clarity under pressure, saying: “His ability to think clearly in the highest-pressure circumstances is exemplary.

“You can tell with those players they seem to have more time. When he was kicking those drop goals, it felt like he had more time... and that is a sign of a real top-quality player.”

England fullback Freddie Steward added: “He makes everyone else look great and that’s the telling side of a player like George. He’s a dream to play with.

“It’s so nice when you stand behind him and he’s slotting drop goals for fun, it makes everyone else’s life a lot easier. He’s such a tactician.”

Meanwhile, Australia coach Eddie Jones said Saturday’s 35-15 Pool C victory over Georgia was the “perfect” start to the Wallabies’ campaign.

The win ended Jones’ streak of five defeats since returning to the job in January.

“World Cups are about taking each step,” said the 63-year-old.

“If we were to plan a perfect World Cup preparation, we said at the end of round one we want to sit there on five points and that’s what we’ve got,” he added as he began a fifth World Cup as a coach.

The Wallabies led 12-3 after just 10 minutes in Paris, as Jordan Petaia and Mark Nawaqanitawase crossed in impressive fashion. Fullback Ben Donaldson was the Man of the Match after scoring 25 points, which included two tries.

Australia’s next game is against Fiji on Sunday.

REUTERS, AFP