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Back in November 2024, English number 10 George Ford appeared disappointed at Allianz Stadium.

Ford had been summoned from the bench to support England secure an historic victory versus the All Blacks, but instead was unable to score a late penalty along with a drop-kick as England fell short by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to achieve success for England.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of excellent displays, especially during the summer tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him versus New Zealand, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to their initial victory over New Zealand at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed in the second half to help his side to a convincing 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players in our team, especially George," Borthwick told. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George substituted and competed really well [against New Zealand].

"A kick hit 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 finer individual. We are honored to feature him within our roster."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks commenced strongly in the stadium, surging to a substantial early margin via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks resulted in the home side returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The tough part in those moments is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our philosophy the superior method to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we were in a favorable situation.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we were positioned on our own line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"In my opinion that represents international rugby involves - who can deal with those moments the best."

The two attempts came within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford converted two drop-kicks with Sale in a Prem game played in tough circumstances at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and appropriately since three points is valuable during any phase of the game."

Ford guided England excellently around the field the entire match, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic tactical bomb additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the English victory over Australia on 1 November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith against Fiji a week later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, with Ford regaining his spot.

The national side, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, face Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to discover if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established two years away before the World Cup that ample opportunity of play remaining in him.