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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to assist England close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, however failed to convert a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team fell short in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance to achieve success to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of strong showings, particularly on the summer tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The 32-year-old fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford successfully executed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed after halftime to support England to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members within our side, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment where he hit those crucial kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"Last year I believed Ford came on and played very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, but he played really well.

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

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand commenced strongly in the stadium, racing into a twelve-point advantage through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-goals ensured England bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The tough part during those periods comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our guns and what we believe the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into contention and we understood should we begin the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we were in a favorable situation.

"Although facing 15 minutes left, we were positioned near our try line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - which team can handle in those circumstances superiorly."

The two attempts happened within a two-minute span while the number 10 who executed three crucial kicks in a successful match versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford converted two drop-goals for Sale in a Prem game played in tough circumstances at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford added.

"The coach is such an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and rightly so as three points is valuable during any phase of the game."

Ford marshalled England excellently around the field the entire match, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the starting role to Fin Smith against Fiji a week later.

However the greatest challenge on paper this autumn came against the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The English team, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina on 23 November and it will be interesting to discover if the manager opts to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

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