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Back in November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon from the bench to assist England secure an historic victory versus the All Blacks, yet missed a crucial penalty and drop-goal as England were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, the player was required to strive to get another shot to bring victory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of excellent displays, especially during the warm-weather tour against Argentina and the USA while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The 32-year-old did more than justify Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to assist the home team to a breakthrough triumph over New Zealand on home soil since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed in the second half to support England to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players on our squad, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those drop-kicks, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"Last year In my view George came on and played really well [against New Zealand].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a superb performer and an even better person. We are fortunate to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

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

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the halftime break with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect at those times comes when the board shows twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our guns and our philosophy the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into contention and we recognized if we started the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we were in a favorable situation.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

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

Each effort happened within a two-minute span as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks representing Sale during a Premiership match occurring during difficult conditions against Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

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

"Steve is such an incredible coach since he continually advising me, and correctly so because three points is valuable throughout the match of the game."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space against the defensive line.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' further confused the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

After beginning the national team's triumph over Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

However the greatest challenge on paper this autumn occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his spot.

England, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, face Argentina this month creating intrigue to learn whether the coach returns for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that ample opportunity of play remaining for him.