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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to support England close out a famous win facing the Kiwis, yet missed a late penalty and drop-goal as his side fell short in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to get another shot to achieve success for England.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple excellent displays, notably in the summer tour against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were away on British and Irish Lions duty, 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, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist England to a first win against the All Blacks on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant in the game Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled after halftime to help his side to a decisive 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment when he converted those crucial kicks, he managed the game remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago I thought George entered and performed really well [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post while he attempted a difficult drop-goal, but he played really well.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand began rapidly during the match, surging to a substantial early margin with tries by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-goals meant the hosts returned to the changing rooms with the momentum.

"The tough part in those moments occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we must maintain to our plan and our philosophy the best way to play the game is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into contention and we knew were we to commence the second half well, with the bench coming on, we would be in a good position.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up on our own line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who can deal during those situations superiorly."

Each effort happened within a two-minute span as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks in a win against Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers representing Sale during a Premiership match played in challenging weather at Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

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

"Steve is such an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and rightly so because three points is valuable throughout the match of competition."

Ford guided England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps against the defensive line.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Having started England's win against Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to his replacement against Fiji a week later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season came against the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his position.

England, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina in late November creating intrigue to learn if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved with two years remaining before the World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead for him.