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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford cut a dejected figure on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist England secure an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet missed a decisive kick along with a drop-kick as his side fell short by a narrow margin.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity at delivering glory for England.

He saw just 25 minutes of action during this year's Six Nations yet multiple impressive performances, especially during the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

The 32-year-old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting 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 at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled after halftime to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members in our team, especially George," the coach stated. "During that phase where he hit those crucial kicks, he managed the game remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago In my view George entered and performed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"A kick hit the post and he had a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player and an even finer individual. We are privileged to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks commenced strongly during the match, surging to a 12-point lead through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks resulted in the home side entered the locker room with renewed energy.

"The tough part at those times is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the optimal approach to compete is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into the game and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - who can deal during those situations superiorly."

The two attempts occurred within a two-minute span as the fly-half who nailed three crucial kicks during a victory versus Argentina in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers for Sale in a league contest conducted in tough circumstances at Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"The coach is such a phenomenal leader that he is always reminding me, and rightly so since three points prove important throughout the match of the game."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, kicking smartly - both to compete and in finding space against the defensive line.

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

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later.

However the greatest challenge on paper this autumn was presented by the three-time world champions, so Ford returned to his starting role.

The national side, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina on 23 November and it will be interesting to discover if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established with two years remaining from a World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead within him.