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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 the hosts secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, but instead missed a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England were beaten by two points.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity at delivering glory for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple impressive performances, especially during the warm-weather tour against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust through his selection versus New Zealand, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to help the hosts to a first win versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment in the game Ford converted two drop-goals in succession right before half-time.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed after halftime to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members in our team, notably George," the coach stated. "In that moment when he converted those drop-kicks, he controlled the match absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford came on and played very effectively [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, but he played really well.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even finer individual. We are fortunate to feature him in our squad."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The Kiwis began rapidly during the match, surging to a 12-point lead through scores from two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect in those moments comes when the board shows 12-0, we must maintain to our plan and what we believe the best way to perform is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into the game and we recognized were we to commence the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we were in a favorable situation.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"In my opinion that represents international rugby involves - who can deal in those circumstances superiorly."

The two attempts came within close succession as the fly-half who executed three drop-kicks in a win against Argentina in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals representing Sale in a league contest occurring during challenging weather versus Bath - this represents an ability he has mastered thoroughly.

"It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford continued.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always reminding me, and rightly so as three points prove important at any stage of play."

Ford marshalled England excellently throughout the match all game, kicking smartly - both to compete and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature high spiral kick further confused the New Zealand player, who couldn't collect.

After beginning the English victory versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season was presented by the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his spot.

England, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, meet Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to determine if the manager opts for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead in him.