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Back in November 2024, English number 10 George Ford looked disheartened during the match.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist England complete a famous win facing the Kiwis, but instead missed a crucial penalty along with a drop-kick as England fell short by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to achieve success to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, especially during the summer tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to support the home team to a first win against the All Blacks in their own stadium since 2012.

The pivotal moment in the game Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled in the second half to help his side to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players in our team, particularly Ford," the manager commented. "In that moment where he hit those drop-goals, he controlled the match absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford entered and performed exceptionally well [against New Zealand].

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

"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are privileged to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks started quickly in the stadium, building a substantial early margin with tries by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive drop-goals resulted in the home side returned to the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect during those periods comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our plan and what we believe the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into contention and we knew if we started the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we would be in a good position.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - who can deal in those circumstances most effectively."

Both kicks came within close succession as the fly-half who nailed three drop-kicks in a successful match against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers for Sale in a Prem game conducted in difficult conditions at Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he is always in my ear about it, and rightly so because three points is valuable at any stage of the game."

Ford guided England excellently across the pitch all game, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

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

Following his start in the national team's triumph versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford handed over the starting role to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The national side, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, face Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to learn whether the coach returns for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that there is plenty of play remaining for him.