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In November 2024, English number 10 George Ford cut a dejected figure on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned as a substitute to help the hosts secure a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, yet was unable to score a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to achieve success for England.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of excellent displays, notably in the summer matches of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were absent for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to assist England to a breakthrough triumph over New Zealand in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford successfully executed two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed in the second half to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment when he converted those crucial kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George came on and played really well [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are fortunate to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand began rapidly in the stadium, racing into a substantial early margin through scores from Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-goals meant the hosts returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The tough part during those periods comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our plan and our convictions the superior method to compete is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into contention and we knew if we started the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we were in a good position.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we found ourselves near our try line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - who can deal during those situations the best."

Each effort occurred within close succession while the number 10 who nailed three crucial kicks in a win against Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers with Sale in a league contest played in difficult conditions against Bath - this represents an ability he has mastered thoroughly.

"It [the drop-goals] is always in the plan," Ford added.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he consistently reminding me, and correctly so because three points are crucial at any stage of the game."

Ford marshalled his side brilliantly across the pitch the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

Following his start in England's win over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to his replacement against Fiji the following week.

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

The English team, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to learn if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining from a World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left in him.