Midfielder George Ford kicked three missed goals to give England a 12-3 half-time lead. Photo: Getty Images/Paul Harding
For a few exciting minutes, George Ford decided to reinvent himself as Jenny de Beer. It was quite astonishing to see him score one while England were desperately trying to find a way to trouble Argentina with 14 men. When he did it a second time, gasps of amazement echoed through the canyons of the Stade Velodrome as the midfielder employed a tactic unseen in Steve Borthwick's oft-predictable side. And when he made the third, there was something like delirium, celebration in the stands that finally the player with the red rose understood how to react to a tense situation.
The target of the fall has become a lost art to the point that its reappearance evokes pangs of nostalgia. When Ford managed three goals in 16 minutes, the only natural comparison was De Beer, the great South African number 10 who famously put England to the sword with five goals in the 1999 World Cup quarter-finals. Goals are becoming increasingly rare and Test sides feel they are usually too difficult to risk, and often in areas of the field where there is still a better position to try. But when England took the blow to the solar plexus from Tom Curry's red card, Ford decided he and his teammates had nothing left to lose.
Ford's striking game drew comparisons to Jenny De Beer, who famously put England to the sword in the 1999 World Cup quarter-finals. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
In-game management has long been a problem in England. They were often afraid of their own shadows and tried too cautiously to overcome failures. But Ford rightly decided that the first match of the World Cup against Argentina was not the moment to die in bewilderment. And so he trusted his improved right boot to turn the territory into points, with outstanding results. In one crazy period, England reached its highest annual target miss rate. Ford cannot even be considered an expert in this field. He scored just one goal in the final Premier League season and two in the previous campaign. Now he has carelessly delivered three goals while his country stared blankly.
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Ford was often destined to work in the shadow of Owen Farrell. Both Borthwick and Eddie Jones considered Farrell a more reliable option, believing in his ability to inspire and his once metronomic playing. For all that Farrell has established himself as the toughest perennial, he lacks the magic tricks and pyrotechnics to keep the tightest games wide open. It was this gap that Ford filled so memorably here in Marseille, provoking an English response as thrilling as it was unlikely.
Ford radiated an aura of calm. One of the most striking illustrations came after the second goal, when Freddie Steward raced off to celebrate wildly. But Ford didn’t do this, he immediately returned to the 22-meter line and told the young man to calm down. On a night when Curry's ejection could have easily undermined England's composure, Ford set a tone that everyone else could emulate.
To remember the last goal scored by England, we had to go back four years. Elliot Daly v Wales. But to Ford in this mood, history didn't matter. He understood the need to act as an enforcer and did so to perfection, being as impeccable with his kicks as he was commanding with his presence on the field.
How incredible Ford's stellar turn seemed. At first, the hot late-summer evening in Marseille looked ideal for a trip from Argentina, as fiery and cacophonous as ever. Even the seats, in Olympique Marseille's home colors of white and sky blue, gave the impression that we were in the Buenos Aires area rather than the French Riviera. The noise was so unrelenting that England fans could barely hear themselves in the square outside. The clashes, with many struggling to get through the gates in time for kick-off, did not help their apprehension.
No one wanted to offer too gloomy predictions. After all, at the start of the World Cup the atmosphere must still be heavy with both promise and looming danger. But England's sluggish and undisciplined actions of late had given cause for concern, and this was soon expressed in the harshest terms. Curry, in what should have been a rousing comeback from an ankle injury, entered the fray like a caged animal, receiving a yellow card that was soon upgraded to the red Borthwick most feared.
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Curry bowed his head in despair. He looked as if he wanted the turf to swallow him whole. It was impossible not to feel sympathy, but it was equally difficult to suppress a sense of fear at the prospects for England. It was quite a difficult task for 15 people. With the 14th, the equation became more of a hope than an expectation. What weapons did England have to fend off the bombardment that was sure to follow?
The answer came thanks to Ford and his ingenuity. What a statement that was for a 30-year-old, what a rebuke to the idea that he was destined to simply be Farrell's stunt double. Farrell's two games in exile proved to be the signal that gave impetus to this England campaign. The overwhelming feeling, however, is the relief that England have eliminated the opponents who were their main obstacles to progressing out of the group phase. But just as important, they found in Ford a true wizard, trained in the all-important skill of thinking on his feet.
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