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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to assist the home side close out a famous win facing the Kiwis, but instead failed to convert a late penalty 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 secure another chance at delivering glory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, notably in the summer tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The veteran player did more than justify Steve Borthwick's faith by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star achieved a best-player showing to help the home team to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford converted consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled in the second half to help his side to a decisive 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the senior players on our squad, notably George," Borthwick told. "In that moment as he scored those drop-goals, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George entered and performed very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he had a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are privileged to feature him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand commenced strongly during the match, building a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks ensured England returned to the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing in those moments occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to perform is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into contention and we understood were we to commence the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we were positioned near our try line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - which team can handle in those circumstances superiorly."

Both kicks came within close succession as Ford who successfully converted three drop-goals in a successful match versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks for Sale in a Prem game occurring during challenging weather at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

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

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he is always in my ear about it, and correctly so because three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford marshalled England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, making smart decisions - both to compete and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' further confused the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

After beginning the English victory against Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the starting role to the younger Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season was presented by the three-time world champions, so Ford returned to his starting role.

England, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, meet Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine if the manager opts to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining in him.