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

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to support England secure an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead missed a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England fell short by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to achieve success to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of strong showings, notably in the summer matches versus Argentine and American teams when the Smith players had departed for Lions team responsibilities, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence through his selection versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to their initial victory over New Zealand on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession right before half-time.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes again delivered in the second half to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members on our squad, notably George," the manager commented. "That period as he scored those drop-kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Last year In my view George substituted and competed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are honored to have him on our team."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a substantial early margin with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive three-pointers resulted in the home side bounced into the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing during those periods comes when the board shows twelve to zero, we can stick to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we recognized were we to commence the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we were in a favorable situation.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we were positioned on our own line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

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

Both kicks came within close succession as the fly-half who successfully converted three crucial kicks in a win against Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks for Sale in a league contest conducted in tough circumstances at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford continued.

"Steve is such an incredible coach that he is always reminding me, and correctly so since three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed his team superbly throughout the match the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature tactical bomb further confused the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Having started England's win over Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty was presented by the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The English team, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, play against Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine if the manager opts with the alternative or continues with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated two years away from a World Cup that ample opportunity of play remaining in him.