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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

He was called upon from the bench to help the home side close out an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead missed a decisive kick along with a drop-kick as his side lost in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to achieve success for the national side.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of strong showings, notably in the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

The veteran player fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker achieved a best-player showing to support the hosts to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled during the final period to support England to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, especially George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those drop-kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Last year I believed Ford came on and played really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are honored to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's strong try, Ford's consecutive drop-goals meant the hosts entered the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The tough part in those moments comes when the board shows twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our guns and our philosophy the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into the game and we recognized were we to commence the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we would be in a good position.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up on our own line following a card, so we had challenges there as well.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - who manages best with those moments most effectively."

Each effort happened within a two-minute span as Ford who executed three drop-goals in a successful match facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks for Sale in a league contest played in challenging weather versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has extensively practiced.

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

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader since he continually reminding me, and rightly so because three points are crucial during any phase of the game."

Ford marshalled England excellently throughout the match the entire match, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic tactical bomb further confused Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in England's win over Australia on 1 November, Ford handed over the starting role to his replacement during the Fiji match the following week.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The national side, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining from a World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left in him.