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In November 2024, English number 10 George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to help the home side complete a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, however was unable to score a crucial penalty and drop-goal as England fell short by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance at delivering glory for England.

He played only 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, particularly on the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

The veteran player fully validated the coach's trust in starting him facing the Kiwis, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to support England to a first win over New Zealand on home soil for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled in the second half to help his side to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players within our side, notably George," the manager commented. "During that phase where he hit those drop-goals, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I thought George entered and performed really well [facing the Kiwis].

"A attempt hit the upright while he attempted a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete and an even finer individual. We are honored to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks started quickly at Allianz Stadium, building a 12-point lead via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive three-pointers resulted in the home side bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing in those moments occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we are able to adhere to our plan and our philosophy the superior method to play the game is," Ford explained.

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

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we were positioned near our try line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I think that's what Test rugby is - who manages best during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks happened within close succession while the number 10 who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a win facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals representing Sale in a league contest conducted in tough circumstances at Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

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

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and appropriately because three points are crucial at any stage of the game."

Ford directed his side brilliantly around the field the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space against the defensive line.

His trademark tactical bomb additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the English victory versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford handed over the fly-half position to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his starting role.

The English team, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, face Argentina on 23 November and it will be interesting to discover if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated two years away prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead within him.