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Back in November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to support England secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, but instead was unable to score a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as his side lost by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, the player was required to strive to get another shot at delivering glory to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple strong showings, notably in the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith by selecting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to their initial victory versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

It helped England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled in the second half to support England to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members within our side, especially George," the coach stated. "That period as he scored those drop-goals, he controlled the match remarkably well.

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

"One kick struck the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, 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-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks commenced strongly in the stadium, surging to a 12-point lead through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive three-pointers resulted in the home side returned to the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing at those times comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our guns and our philosophy the best way to compete is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into it and we recognized if we started the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves defending our goal line following a card, so we had challenges there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who manages best during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks came within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who successfully converted three drop-goals in a win facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers with Sale in a Prem game conducted in challenging weather at Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

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

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach since he continually advising me, and rightly so since three points prove important during any phase of competition."

Ford guided his side brilliantly across the pitch all game, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space against the defensive line.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

Following his start in England's win versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

But the biggest test on paper this autumn was presented by the three-time world champions, so Ford returned to his position.

The national side, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, face Argentina this month and it will be interesting to determine if Borthwick goes back with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that ample opportunity of play remaining for him.