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During November 2024, English number 10 Ford looked disheartened during the match.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to help England close out a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, yet failed to convert a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, the player was required to strive to earn another opportunity at delivering glory for England.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations yet multiple impressive performances, notably in the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old not only repaid the manager's confidence in starting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to a first win over New Zealand in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

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

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed after halftime to help his side to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players on our squad, notably George," Borthwick told. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"One year earlier In my view George entered and performed really well [against New Zealand].

"A kick hit the post and he had a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even better person. We are privileged to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a substantial early margin with tries by two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's consecutive drop-kicks ensured England entered the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing at those times occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and what we believe the superior method to play the game is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into it and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, as reserves joined, we were in a good position.

"Despite having 15 minutes left, we ended up on our own line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - who can deal during those situations superiorly."

Each effort came within close succession as the fly-half who executed three drop-goals during a victory versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, displayed his complete 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers for Sale during a Premiership match played in difficult conditions versus Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he consistently in my ear about it, and rightly so as three points is valuable at any stage of the game."

Ford guided his side brilliantly across the pitch the complete contest, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His signature high spiral kick further confused Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

After beginning England's win versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his starting role.

England, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to learn if the manager opts with the alternative or persists with Ford.

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