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Back in November 2024, England fly-half George Ford cut a dejected figure on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to help the hosts complete a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, yet failed to convert a late penalty along with a drop-kick while his team lost by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to achieve success for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of excellent displays, especially during the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions team responsibilities, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

The veteran player fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to their initial victory against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford converted two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to trail 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered after halftime to help his side to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players in our team, notably George," the coach stated. "In that moment when he converted those crucial kicks, he managed the game remarkably well.

"Last year I thought George came on and played really well [against New Zealand].

"A kick hit the post while he attempted a drop-goal under pressure, but he played really well.

"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, building a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive drop-goals resulted in the home side entered the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect in those moments occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our strategy and our philosophy the superior method to compete is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we recognized if we started the second half well, with the bench coming on, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - which team can handle with those moments most effectively."

The two attempts came within close succession as the fly-half who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a win against Argentina in the last global tournament, displayed his complete international experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale in a league contest conducted in tough circumstances at Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford continued.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he consistently advising me, and rightly so because three points is valuable throughout the match of play."

Ford directed his team superbly across the pitch all game, making smart decisions - both to compete and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic high spiral kick also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

Having started the English victory versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to his replacement against Fiji seven days later.

But the biggest test theoretically this season occurred versus the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his starting role.

The English team, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina this month creating intrigue to determine if the manager opts to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established two years away before the World Cup that there is plenty of career ahead in him.