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

He was called upon as a substitute to assist the home side close out an historic victory versus the All Blacks, but instead was unable to score a late penalty along with a drop-kick as England lost by a narrow margin.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to achieve success for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations however a series of excellent displays, notably in the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

At 32 years old not only repaid the coach's trust in starting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star achieved a best-player showing to help the home team to their initial victory versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks just before the break.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed after halftime to support England to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, particularly Ford," the manager commented. "During that phase when he converted those drop-goals, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"Last year In my view George came on and played exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis started quickly during the match, racing into a 12-point lead via touchdowns by two key players.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals meant the hosts returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The tough part during those periods is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we can stick to our guns and what we believe the best way to perform is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into it and we understood if we started the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up on our own line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

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

The two attempts happened within a two-minute span as Ford who nailed three drop-kicks in a win against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his international experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers representing Sale in a Prem game conducted in difficult conditions at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he consistently advising me, and appropriately because three points is valuable throughout the match of play."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch all game, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark high spiral kick also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia on 1 November, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to the younger Smith against Fiji seven days later.

But the biggest test theoretically this season came against the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The national side, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina this month and it will be interesting to determine whether the coach returns for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated two years away prior to global competition that ample opportunity of play remaining for him.