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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford cut a dejected figure at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon from the bench to assist the home side secure a famous win versus the All Blacks, yet failed to convert a late 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 at delivering glory for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple excellent displays, notably in the summer matches against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust through his selection versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support England to their initial victory against the All Blacks on home soil for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered during the final period to support England to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the senior players within our side, especially George," Borthwick told. "In that moment as he scored those crucial kicks, he managed the game just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago In my view George entered and performed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding.

"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis began rapidly during the match, surging to a twelve-point advantage with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The tough part during those periods occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our plan and what we believe the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into it and we understood were we to commence the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we would be in a good position.

"Although facing 15 minutes left, we were positioned defending our goal line following a card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - which team can handle with those moments most effectively."

Both kicks came within close succession as Ford who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a win facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford converted two drop-kicks with Sale during a Premiership match occurring during tough circumstances against Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he is always advising me, and rightly so because three points are crucial throughout the match of competition."

Ford directed his side brilliantly around the field the entire match, making smart decisions - both to compete and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the national team's triumph against Australia during the autumn series, Ford handed over the starting role to the younger Smith against Fiji seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty was presented by the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his spot.

The English team, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina this month creating intrigue to discover whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead in him.