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

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to assist the home side close out a memorable triumph against New Zealand, yet failed to convert a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot at delivering glory for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, especially during the warm-weather tour against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were away on British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

The veteran player fully validated the manager's confidence through his selection versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist England to a first win versus the Kiwis on home soil for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks just before the break.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered after halftime to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"You have to give credit to the senior players within our side, notably George," Borthwick told. "That period when he converted those drop-kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago In my view George substituted and competed exceptionally well [against New Zealand].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are honored to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand began rapidly in the stadium, building a twelve-point advantage with tries by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive three-pointers meant the hosts entered the halftime break with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect during those periods occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and what we believe the best way to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we recognized if we started the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we were positioned on our own line after a penalty, so we had challenges there as well.

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

Each effort occurred within two minutes of each other as Ford who successfully converted three drop-goals in a successful match facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, showed all his international experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals for Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather versus Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"The coach is such a phenomenal leader that he is always in my ear about it, and rightly so because three points is valuable during any phase of competition."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark high spiral kick further confused the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in England's win versus the Wallabies in early November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his position.

The English team, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved two years away before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left in him.