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In November 2024, national team playmaker George Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned from the bench to support the hosts complete a famous win versus the All Blacks, yet missed a decisive kick along with a drop-kick as his side lost by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to bring victory for England.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations yet multiple strong showings, particularly on the summer matches against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

The veteran player fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star produced a man-of-the-match display to help the hosts to a first win versus the Kiwis in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment in the game Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed during the final period to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players on our squad, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment where he hit those drop-kicks, he managed the game just incredibly.

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

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are privileged to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis started quickly in the stadium, surging to a 12-point lead through scores from two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers resulted in the home side returned to the locker room with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing during those periods is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the superior method to compete is," Ford stated.

"We fought our way back into the game and we recognized if we started the second half well, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who manages best during those situations superiorly."

The two attempts came within two minutes of each other as Ford who nailed three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

Ford hit two three-pointers for Sale during a Premiership match played in tough circumstances versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has extensively practiced.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford stated further.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always advising me, and appropriately as three points is valuable throughout the match of the game."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, making smart decisions - both to compete and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic tactical bomb also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the English victory versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to the younger Smith against Fiji seven days later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty came against the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his starting role.

England, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina this month creating intrigue to discover whether the coach returns for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left for him.