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During November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

He was called upon from the bench to assist the home side close out an historic victory against New Zealand, however missed a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as his side fell short by a narrow margin.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to bring victory for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of excellent displays, particularly on the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

The 32-year-old fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help the home team to their initial victory over New Zealand at home since 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford converted two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled in the second half to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the senior players within our side, especially George," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those drop-kicks, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago In my view George substituted and competed really well [versus the All Blacks].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are privileged to have him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks started quickly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks resulted in the home side entered the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect at those times is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we recognized were we to commence the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up near our try line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who can deal with those moments superiorly."

Both kicks happened within close succession as the fly-half who successfully converted three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals representing Sale in a league contest played in tough circumstances at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"These attempts form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"Steve is such an incredible coach that he consistently advising me, and correctly so because three points is valuable at any stage of play."

Ford marshalled England excellently throughout the match the complete contest, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His signature high spiral kick also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

After beginning the English victory versus the Wallabies in early November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to the younger Smith against Fiji seven days later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his position.

England, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to learn if the manager opts with the alternative or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of rugby left within him.