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Back in November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to assist the home side secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, yet failed to convert a crucial penalty and drop-goal as England were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance to bring victory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of strong showings, especially during 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.

The veteran player fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him versus New Zealand, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist England to their initial victory over New Zealand in their own stadium since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford converted consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

This assisted England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled during the final period to help his side to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players within our side, notably George," the coach stated. "That period as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Last year In my view George came on and played really well [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are honored to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a substantial early margin with tries by two key players.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers resulted in the home side entered the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing in those moments is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we are able to adhere to our plan and our philosophy the best way to compete is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into it and we understood should we begin the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we ended up defending our goal line following a card, so we had challenges during that phase also.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - who manages best in those circumstances the best."

Both kicks occurred within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals with Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather at Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

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

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader since he continually in my ear about it, and correctly so because three points are crucial at any stage of play."

Ford directed his team superbly around the field all game, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space against the defensive line.

His characteristic tactical bomb also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

After beginning the English victory versus the Wallabies in early November, Ford relinquished the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his starting role.

England, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina this month and it will be interesting to learn if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established two years away prior to global competition that significant amounts of rugby left within him.