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Back in November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to help the hosts close out a famous win versus the All Blacks, however was unable to score a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as his side fell short by two points.

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

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations yet multiple strong showings, especially during the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back among starting candidates.

At 32 years old not only repaid the coach's trust through his selection against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the hosts to their initial victory against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed in the second half to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players in our team, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "That period where he hit those crucial kicks, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford substituted and competed really well [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are honored to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis began rapidly during the match, racing into a substantial early margin with tries by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive drop-goals ensured England entered the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect during those periods occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we must maintain to our strategy and our philosophy the superior method to perform is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into it and we understood should we begin the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we were in a good position.

"Although facing 15 minutes left, we found ourselves on our own line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - which team can handle in those circumstances superiorly."

The two attempts happened within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-goals during a victory versus Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers for Sale during a Premiership match occurring during tough circumstances against Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"These attempts form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

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

Ford guided his team superbly around the field the complete contest, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

After beginning the English victory over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to the younger Smith against Fiji seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season came against the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his position.

The national side, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina in late November creating intrigue to discover if the manager opts for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated two years away from a World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead in him.