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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford appeared disappointed at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to help the hosts close out an historic victory versus the All Blacks, yet was unable to score a late penalty along with a drop-kick as England were beaten in a close contest.

Following those costly misses, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance to achieve success for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of impressive performances, especially during the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly as a starting option.

At 32 years old not only repaid the coach's trust by selecting him facing the Kiwis, and the Sharks star produced a man-of-the-match display to assist England to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed during the final period to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players in our team, notably George," the coach stated. "In that moment when he converted those drop-kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George entered and performed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks began rapidly during the match, surging to a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive three-pointers resulted in the home side bounced into the changing rooms with the momentum.

"The challenging thing at those times comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the optimal approach to perform is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into the game and we knew should we begin the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves defending our goal line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"I think that's what international rugby involves - which team can handle during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks came within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-kicks in a win against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals for Sale in a Prem game conducted in challenging weather at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks is always in the plan," Ford stated further.

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader since he continually advising me, and appropriately because three points prove important at any stage of competition."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - both to compete and in finding space against the defensive line.

His trademark high spiral kick also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the English victory against Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match a week later.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The English team, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, meet Argentina this month creating intrigue to discover if the manager opts with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford proved with two years remaining from a World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining within him.