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Back in November 2024, national team playmaker Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to assist the home side complete a famous win against New Zealand, yet failed to convert a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as his side lost by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity at delivering glory for England.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of strong showings, especially during the summer tour of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

The 32-year-old not only repaid the coach's trust in starting him versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to a first win against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment in the game Ford converted consecutive drop-kicks right before half-time.

It helped England overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed during the final period to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"You have to give credit to the veteran members within our side, especially George," the manager commented. "That period where he hit those crucial kicks, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I thought George came on and played very effectively [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post while he attempted a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.

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

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a substantial early margin through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals ensured England bounced into the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing in those moments occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we can stick to our plan and our philosophy the best way to compete is," Ford stated.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we understood if we started the second half well, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who can deal with those moments superiorly."

The two attempts came within two minutes of each other as Ford who executed three drop-goals during a victory facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks for Sale during a Premiership match occurring during tough circumstances against Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

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

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader that he is always reminding me, and rightly so as three points prove important at any stage of the game."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the entire match, kicking smartly - both to compete and in finding space against the defensive line.

His signature tactical bomb additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the English victory against Australia on 1 November, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to Fin Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his spot.

England, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, play against Argentina this month and it will be interesting to discover if the manager opts to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead for him.