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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford cut a dejected figure at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon from the bench to assist England complete a famous win against New Zealand, yet failed to convert a crucial penalty and drop-goal as his side fell short by a narrow margin.

Following those costly misses, the player was required to strive to earn another opportunity to bring victory for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations however a series of strong showings, especially during the summer tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence in starting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to assist the hosts to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The crucial point came when Ford converted consecutive drop-kicks just before the break.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled in the second half to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, notably George," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those drop-kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George substituted and competed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a pressured drop-kick, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete and an even finer individual. We are privileged to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks commenced strongly during the match, surging to a substantial early margin via touchdowns by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks resulted in the home side returned to the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The tough part during those periods is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to perform is," Ford stated.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we understood if we started the second half well, with the bench coming on, we would be in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - who manages best with those moments the best."

Both kicks came within two minutes of each other as Ford who executed three drop-kicks in a successful match against Argentina in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford converted two drop-goals for Sale in a Prem game conducted in difficult conditions versus Bath - this represents an ability he has mastered thoroughly.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he is always in my ear about it, and rightly so because three points prove important during any phase of the game."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, kicking smartly - both to compete and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Having started England's win over Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to Fin Smith against Fiji the following week.

However the greatest challenge on paper this autumn occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The English team, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina this month and curiosity remains to learn if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford established two years away from a World Cup that ample opportunity of rugby left in him.