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

He was called upon from the bench to help the hosts secure a famous win facing the Kiwis, but instead missed a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England were beaten by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance at delivering glory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of strong showings, notably in the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams when the Smith players were away on British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated the manager's confidence through his selection against the All Blacks, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to a first win over New Zealand in their own stadium since 2012.

The pivotal moment in the game Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This assisted England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed after halftime to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the senior players within our side, particularly Ford," the manager commented. "During that phase where he hit those drop-goals, he managed the game remarkably well.

"Last year I thought George substituted and competed really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a superb performer and an even better person. We are honored to include him within our roster."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The Kiwis began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, building a substantial early margin through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's strong try, Ford's consecutive drop-goals ensured England entered the locker room with the momentum.

"The challenging thing at those times occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we can stick to our plan and our convictions the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we were in a good position.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we ended up near our try line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties in that instance too.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - who can deal in those circumstances most effectively."

The two attempts occurred within a two-minute span while the number 10 who successfully converted three drop-goals in a win versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals representing Sale in a league contest played in difficult conditions against Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"The drop-kicks is always in the plan," Ford stated further.

"Steve is such an outstanding manager that he is always reminding me, and appropriately as three points is valuable throughout the match of competition."

Ford directed his team superbly across the pitch the complete contest, making smart decisions - both to compete and in finding space against the defensive line.

His signature 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the English victory over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to his replacement for the Fiji victory seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his position.

The national side, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, face Argentina this month creating intrigue to learn if Borthwick goes back with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of rugby left within him.