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Back in November 2024, England fly-half Ford cut a dejected figure on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist England complete an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead missed a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team were beaten by two points.

After those expensive errors, the player was required to strive to secure another chance to achieve success for the national side.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of strong showings, especially during the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly as a starting option.

The veteran player did more than justify the coach's trust by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to a first win versus the Kiwis at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled during the final period to help his side to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, especially George," Borthwick told. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"Last year I thought George came on and played really well [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are honored to have him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a substantial early margin with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-goals resulted in the home side returned to the locker room with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing during those periods occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our plan and our philosophy the optimal approach to compete is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we knew should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up near our try line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I think that's what Test rugby is - who manages best during those situations most effectively."

Both kicks happened within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who nailed three drop-kicks in a successful match against Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals for Sale in a league contest occurring during difficult conditions against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford added.

"Steve is such an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and appropriately because three points are crucial at any stage of play."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark high spiral kick additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia during the autumn series, Ford handed over the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, with Ford regaining his starting role.

The English team, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to discover whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead within him.