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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist the home side close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, but instead was unable to score a crucial penalty and drop-goal while his team fell short by two points.

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

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple impressive performances, especially during the summer matches against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old not only repaid the manager's confidence through his selection versus New Zealand, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to help the home team to a first win over New Zealand at home since 2012.

The crucial point came when Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed after halftime to help his side to a decisive 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players within our side, notably George," Borthwick told. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"One year earlier I believed Ford came on and played exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

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

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are fortunate to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis began rapidly during the match, building a substantial early margin with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-kicks meant the hosts returned to the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing in those moments comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our strategy and our convictions the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into the game and we knew if we started the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Although facing 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 with those moments the best."

The two attempts came within close succession as the fly-half who executed three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two three-pointers with Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather against Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"These attempts form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"Steve is such an outstanding manager that he consistently advising me, and correctly so because three points prove important at any stage of play."

Ford directed his side brilliantly throughout the match the complete contest, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and in finding space in the opposition's territory.

His signature high spiral kick additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who couldn't collect.

Having started the national team's triumph versus the Wallabies in early November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith for the Fiji victory a week later.

But the biggest test on paper this autumn occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his spot.

England, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina in late November creating intrigue to discover whether the coach returns for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining within him.