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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist England complete a memorable triumph against New Zealand, yet was unable to score a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt while his team were beaten by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance to achieve success for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action during this year's Six Nations however a series of strong showings, especially during the summer tour of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were away on British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back as a starting option.

At 32 years old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith through his selection against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support England to a first win over New Zealand at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes again delivered during the final period to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "That period as he scored those drop-kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Last year In my view George substituted and competed very effectively [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete and an even finer individual. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks began rapidly during the match, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals resulted in the home side entered the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect in those moments is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our plan and what we believe the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into contention and we recognized were we to commence the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Although facing fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned defending our goal line with a yellow card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - which team can handle during those situations superiorly."

Each effort happened within a two-minute span as Ford who executed three crucial kicks in a win versus Argentina in the last global tournament, displayed his complete international experience.

Ford converted two drop-goals with Sale in a league contest occurring during difficult conditions against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

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

"Steve is such an incredible coach that he is always advising me, and appropriately since three points is valuable during any phase of play."

Ford guided England excellently across the pitch the entire match, making smart decisions - both to compete and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' further confused the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the English victory against Australia on 1 November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith during the Fiji match seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn came against the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

England, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina in late November creating intrigue to discover whether the coach returns with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that ample opportunity of play remaining within him.