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Back in November 2024, England fly-half Ford cut a dejected figure during the match.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist England secure an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead missed a late penalty along with a drop-kick as England lost by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, the player was required to strive to secure another chance at delivering glory for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations yet multiple impressive performances, notably in the warm-weather tour against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were away on Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The veteran player did more than justify Steve Borthwick's faith through his selection against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to assist the hosts to a first win over New Zealand in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered in the second half to support England to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players in our team, especially George," the manager commented. "That period as he scored those drop-kicks, he managed the game just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George came on and played really well [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post while he attempted a difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are privileged to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks started quickly in the stadium, surging to a 12-point lead with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks ensured England returned to the halftime break with the momentum.

"The tough part at those times is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we are able to adhere to our plan and what we believe the optimal approach to perform is," Ford said.

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

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we ended up near our try line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who manages best during those situations the best."

Each effort occurred within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who nailed three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals with Sale during a Premiership match played in difficult conditions versus Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford stated further.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he is always advising me, and appropriately as three points are crucial during any phase of competition."

Ford marshalled his side brilliantly throughout the match the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature high spiral kick additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Having started the national team's triumph over Australia on 1 November, Ford handed over the starting role to the younger Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn was presented by the three-time world champions, so Ford returned to his starting role.

The English team, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina this month and curiosity remains to learn whether the coach returns with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford proved with two years remaining prior to global competition that there is plenty of rugby left for him.