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Back in November 2024, England fly-half Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist the home side complete a famous win against New Zealand, but instead failed to convert a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as England were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, the player was required to strive to get another shot at delivering glory for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple strong showings, notably in the warm-weather tour against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old not only repaid the coach's trust in starting him facing the Kiwis, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support England to a first win versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed during the final period to help his side to a convincing 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those drop-goals, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George entered and performed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright and he had a difficult drop-goal, but he played really well.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are fortunate to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks meant the hosts returned to the changing rooms with the momentum.

"The challenging thing during those periods comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our plan and our convictions the superior method to compete is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into the game and we knew if we started the second half well, as reserves joined, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned on our own line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

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

The two attempts occurred within close succession as the fly-half who executed three crucial kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

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

"The drop-kicks is always in the plan," Ford added.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always advising me, and correctly so because three points is valuable throughout the match of play."

Ford directed his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His trademark high spiral kick also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the national team's triumph against Australia on 1 November, Ford passed on the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his position.

England, now on a run of 10 straight wins, face Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine if the manager opts to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left within him.