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In November 2024, English number 10 Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to help the hosts complete an historic victory facing the Kiwis, however missed a decisive kick along with a drop-kick while his team were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity at delivering glory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of strong showings, particularly on the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

At 32 years old not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to a first win over New Zealand at home since 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford successfully executed back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered after halftime to help his side to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players in our team, especially George," the manager commented. "That period when he converted those drop-goals, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford entered and performed really well [versus the All Blacks].

"A kick hit the post and he had a drop-goal under pressure, but he played really well.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks began rapidly during the match, building a substantial early margin via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive three-pointers resulted in the home side entered the locker room 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 plan and our philosophy the superior method to play the game is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into the game and we knew were we to commence the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned near our try line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - which team can handle during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks came within close succession while the number 10 who nailed three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks for Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather at Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford continued.

"Steve is such an outstanding manager since he continually advising me, and rightly so because three points prove important at any stage of the game."

Ford guided his side brilliantly across the pitch the entire match, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' further confused the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season occurred versus the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his spot.

The national side, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, face Argentina in late November creating intrigue to determine whether the coach returns with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford proved two years away prior to global competition that significant amounts of play remaining in him.