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In November 2024, English number 10 George Ford cut a dejected figure during the match.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist the home side close out a memorable triumph versus the All Blacks, however missed a decisive kick and drop-goal as his side fell short by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity at delivering glory to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple impressive performances, especially during the summer matches of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

At 32 years old did more than justify Steve Borthwick's faith by selecting him versus New Zealand, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to support England to a breakthrough triumph over New Zealand in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves again delivered during the final period to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members on our squad, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment where he hit those crucial kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I believed Ford entered and performed very effectively [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post while he attempted a pressured drop-kick, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are privileged to feature him on our team."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The Kiwis commenced strongly in the stadium, building a 12-point lead via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks meant the hosts entered the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing during those periods occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the optimal approach to compete is," Ford stated.

"We fought our way back into the game and we understood should we begin the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents international rugby involves - who can deal during those situations most effectively."

The two attempts came within close succession as the fly-half who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a win versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks with Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather against Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

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

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he consistently advising me, and rightly so as three points is valuable at any stage of play."

Ford guided his team superbly around the field all game, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space against the defensive line.

His trademark tactical bomb additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in the English victory versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match seven days later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his position.

The national side, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established two years away from a World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left in him.