Ford was named in Stuart Lancaster's 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He was picked to start in the tournament opener against Fiji as England won 35–11, however, one week later, Ford was dropped in favour of childhood friend Owen Farrell. England were subsequently knocked out in the pool stage, becoming the second after Wales, as host nation to fail to qualify for the knock-out rounds of their own tournament. The 1991 tournament was jointly hosted between Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and France.