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In November 2024, national team playmaker George Ford cut a dejected figure during the match.

He was called upon off the sidelines to help England secure an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead missed a crucial penalty along with a drop-kick while his team fell short in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to bring victory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of excellent displays, notably in the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams when the Smith players had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

The 32-year-old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to a first win against the All Blacks on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford converted consecutive drop-kicks just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes again delivered during the final period to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the senior players on our squad, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment where he hit those drop-kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Last year I believed Ford substituted and competed very effectively [facing the Kiwis].

"A attempt hit the upright and he had a pressured drop-kick, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are privileged to include him in our squad."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

New Zealand began rapidly in the stadium, building a 12-point lead via touchdowns by two key players.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive drop-goals resulted in the home side entered the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect during those periods is, when the scoreboard says twelve to zero, we can stick to our plan and our philosophy the superior method to perform is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into the game and we knew should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned near our try line following a card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who manages best in those circumstances the best."

Both kicks came within a two-minute span while the number 10 who nailed three crucial kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks representing Sale in a Prem game played in difficult conditions at Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

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

"Steve is such an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and appropriately as three points is valuable at any stage of the game."

Ford marshalled his side brilliantly around the field all game, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His trademark high spiral kick further confused the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the English victory versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his position.

The national side, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to determine if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that there is plenty of career ahead for him.