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

He was called upon as a substitute to support the home side complete an historic victory facing the Kiwis, however was unable to score a decisive kick and drop-goal while his team were beaten by two points.

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

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of excellent displays, notably in the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly in the starting mix.

At 32 years old fully validated the manager's confidence through his selection versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to a first win versus the Kiwis at home since 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford successfully executed 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 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled after halftime to support England to a convincing 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members on our squad, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "During that phase when he converted those crucial kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago I believed Ford substituted and competed really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

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

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis commenced strongly during the match, racing into a 12-point lead via touchdowns by two key players.

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

"The challenging thing in those moments comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the optimal approach to perform is," Ford stated.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we understood should we begin the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned near our try line following a card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - which team can handle in those circumstances the best."

Each effort came within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-kicks in a win versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals for Sale during a Premiership match played in tough circumstances against Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] is always in the plan," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager that he is always reminding me, and correctly so because three points are crucial at any stage of the game."

Ford directed his side brilliantly throughout the match the entire match, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

After beginning the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, with Ford regaining his spot.

England, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina on 23 November and it will be interesting to learn if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining before the World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left for him.