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Back in November 2024, national team playmaker George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

Ford had been summoned from the bench to support England close out a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, but instead missed a late penalty along with a drop-kick while his team were beaten in a close contest.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity to achieve success to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple strong showings, particularly on the summer matches of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The 32-year-old not only repaid the coach's trust by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to their initial victory against the All Blacks on home soil since 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks right before half-time.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled during the final period to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players within our side, particularly Ford," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those drop-kicks, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago In my view George entered and performed exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are fortunate to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a 12-point lead via touchdowns by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive three-pointers resulted in the home side returned to the halftime break with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect at those times is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we must maintain to our plan and what we believe the optimal approach to perform is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we were in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned on our own line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties in that instance too.

"I think that's what international rugby involves - who manages best in those circumstances most effectively."

The two attempts occurred within a two-minute span as Ford who nailed three drop-goals during a victory versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers with Sale during a Premiership match played in difficult conditions versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford stated further.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager since he continually in my ear about it, and rightly so because three points are crucial at any stage of competition."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature tactical bomb further confused Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia in early November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to Fin Smith against Fiji the following week.

But the biggest test theoretically this season occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The English team, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina this month and it will be interesting to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established two years away before the World Cup that ample opportunity of career ahead within him.