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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to help the home side close out a memorable triumph against New Zealand, but instead was unable to score a decisive kick and drop-goal as England fell short by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, the player was required to strive to earn another opportunity to achieve success for England.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of strong showings, notably in the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were away on Lions team responsibilities, returned him solidly in the starting mix.

The 32-year-old not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him versus New Zealand, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to support the home team to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks on home soil since 2012.

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

It helped England overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed during the final period to support England to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the senior players within our side, notably George," Borthwick told. "That period as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago I believed Ford entered and performed exceptionally well [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are privileged to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis began rapidly during the match, building a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers ensured England returned to the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The tough part in those moments is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our guns and our convictions the best way to compete is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into it and we knew should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we ended up on our own line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - which team can handle during those situations superiorly."

Both kicks happened within close succession while the number 10 who nailed three crucial kicks in a successful match versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals for Sale during a Premiership match conducted in tough circumstances at Bath - this represents an ability he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts are consistently planned," Ford added.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he consistently in my ear about it, and appropriately as three points is valuable at any stage of competition."

Ford directed England excellently around the field all game, executing intelligent kicks - both to compete and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature tactical bomb also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, 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 for the Fiji victory seven days later.

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

The national side, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina this month and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining prior to global competition that ample opportunity of play remaining in him.