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

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to help England close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet missed a decisive kick and drop-goal as his side fell short by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to bring victory for England.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of impressive performances, notably in the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams when the Smith players were away on Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old did more than justify the manager's confidence through his selection against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to a first win against the All Blacks in their own stadium since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled after halftime to help his side to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the veteran members in our team, notably George," the coach stated. "That period where he hit those drop-goals, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I thought George substituted and competed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, but he played really well.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even better person. We are privileged to have him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks commenced strongly in the stadium, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks meant the hosts entered the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect during those periods comes when the board shows 12-0, we must maintain to our plan and our philosophy the best way to compete is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into contention and we knew should we begin the second half well, with substitutes entering, we were in an advantageous spot.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we ended up near our try line following a card, so we had challenges there as well.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who can deal in those circumstances most effectively."

Each effort occurred within close succession as Ford who nailed three drop-kicks during a victory against Argentina in the last global tournament, displayed his complete 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two drop-kicks for Sale during a Premiership match conducted in challenging weather at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

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

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader that he consistently reminding me, and rightly so as three points are crucial during any phase of the game."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space in the opposition's territory.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the English victory over Australia on 1 November, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to Fin Smith against Fiji seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his starting role.

England, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to learn if the manager opts to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that there is plenty of rugby left within him.