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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon from the bench to assist the home side secure a famous win versus the All Blacks, however was unable to score a crucial penalty and drop-goal as his side were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to achieve success to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple impressive performances, notably in the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support England to their initial victory against the All Blacks in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves again delivered in the second half to support England to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players on our squad, especially George," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Last year I believed Ford substituted and competed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"A kick hit the post while he attempted a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are privileged to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks began rapidly during the match, building a 12-point lead with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing in those moments is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we are able to adhere to our plan and what we believe the best way to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into contention and we recognized were we to commence the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who can deal with those moments the best."

Each effort came within a two-minute span while the number 10 who nailed three drop-kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his international experience.

Ford converted two drop-goals representing Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather against Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

"These attempts form part of our strategy," Ford added.

"The coach is such an outstanding manager that he consistently reminding me, and correctly so since three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed England excellently around the field the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to his replacement during the Fiji match a week later.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his starting role.

The English team, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina this month and curiosity remains to discover if Borthwick goes back with the alternative or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford established two years away prior to global competition that ample opportunity of rugby left in him.