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During November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

He was called upon from the bench to help England close out a memorable triumph versus the All Blacks, however was unable to score a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost in a close contest.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity at delivering glory to the English team.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of impressive performances, notably in the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

The veteran player fully validated the manager's confidence through his selection against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to support England to their initial victory over New Zealand in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession right before half-time.

This assisted England recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled during the final period to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members in our team, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment where he hit those crucial kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year In my view George entered and performed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a difficult drop-goal, but he played really well.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are honored to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks commenced strongly during the match, surging to a 12-point lead with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The tough part during those periods comes when the board shows twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our guns and our philosophy the superior method to perform is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we recognized were we to commence the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we were in a good position.

"Although facing 15 minutes left, we found ourselves defending our goal line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who manages best with those moments most effectively."

Both kicks happened within close succession while the number 10 who nailed three drop-kicks in a successful match against Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale in a league contest occurring during challenging weather at Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford added.

"The coach is such a phenomenal leader that he consistently in my ear about it, and correctly so as three points are crucial at any stage of competition."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space in the opposition's territory.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

Having started the English victory over Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty occurred versus the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his position.

The English team, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to discover if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or maintains Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford proved with two years remaining before the World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left in him.