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During November 2024, national team playmaker Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned from the bench to assist the home side secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, yet missed a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to achieve success to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of excellent displays, particularly on the summer matches of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker achieved a best-player showing to support the home team to their initial victory over New Zealand in their own stadium since 2012.

The decisive instant in the game Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed after halftime to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"You have to give credit to the senior players within our side, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those drop-goals, he controlled the match just incredibly.

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

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

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are honored to feature him within our roster."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

New Zealand commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by two key players.

After Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks meant the hosts bounced into the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The tough part in those moments occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we can stick to our plan and our philosophy the best way to perform is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the second half well, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Even with 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line after a penalty, so we had challenges during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who can deal with those moments the best."

Each effort came within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who executed three drop-goals in a win against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks with Sale in a Prem game occurring during difficult conditions at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

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

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he is always in my ear about it, and correctly so because three points prove important during any phase of play."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the entire match, kicking smartly - both to compete and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His signature 'spiral bomb' further confused the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

After beginning the English victory versus the Wallabies in early November, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match a week later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, with Ford regaining his position.

England, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, face Argentina this month and it will be interesting to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that ample opportunity of rugby left within him.