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

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to help the hosts secure an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet was unable to score a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost by a narrow margin.

Following those costly misses, the player was required to strive to secure another chance to achieve success to the English team.

He saw just 25 minutes of action during this year's Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, notably in the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust in starting him versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star produced a man-of-the-match display to support the home team to their initial victory against the All Blacks at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled during the final period to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members in our team, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "In that moment when he converted those crucial kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I believed Ford entered and performed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright and he had a pressured drop-kick, but he played really well.

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer and an even better person. We are privileged to include him on our team."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, building a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-kicks ensured England returned to the locker room with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect in those moments occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our strategy and what we believe the best way to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into it and we recognized if we started the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we were in an advantageous spot.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we ended up on our own line following a card, so we had challenges there as well.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - which team can handle in those circumstances the best."

The two attempts happened within close succession as Ford who successfully converted three drop-goals in a successful match versus Argentina in the last global tournament, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks with Sale in a league contest conducted in challenging weather against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford stated further.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager that he consistently in my ear about it, and correctly so since three points is valuable throughout the match of competition."

Ford marshalled England excellently throughout the match the entire match, kicking smartly - both to compete and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

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

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia on 1 November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his position.

The English team, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, play against Argentina in late November creating intrigue to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that there is plenty of career ahead in him.