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Back in November 2024, English number 10 Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to assist the hosts close out a famous win against New Zealand, however failed to convert a crucial penalty and drop-goal as England were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, the player was required to strive to get another shot to achieve success for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations but a string of strong showings, notably in the summer tour against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were away on Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The veteran player fully validated the coach's trust through his selection against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to assist England to a first win versus the Kiwis in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford successfully executed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

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 again delivered after halftime to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

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

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

"One kick struck the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are honored to feature him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage through scores from two key players.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-goals meant the hosts bounced into the locker room with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect at those times occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to perform is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into contention and we recognized were we to commence the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned defending our goal line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - which team can handle during those situations most effectively."

The two attempts occurred within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks in a win facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two three-pointers representing Sale in a Prem game conducted in challenging weather against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he consistently advising me, and appropriately because three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' further confused the New Zealand player, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in England's win over Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the fly-half position to the younger Smith against Fiji a week later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his spot.

The English team, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina this month and it will be interesting to discover whether the coach returns with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that there is plenty of play remaining within him.