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

He was called upon off the sidelines to help England complete a famous win against New Zealand, but instead was unable to score a crucial penalty along with a drop-kick as his side were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance at delivering glory for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of strong showings, especially during the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The 32-year-old fully validated the manager's confidence in starting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help the home team to a first win over New Zealand in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 at the break, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled in the second half to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the senior players within our side, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he directed play remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago In my view George entered and performed really well [against New Zealand].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a superb performer and an even better person. We are honored to have him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand commenced strongly during the match, surging to a substantial early margin with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's consecutive drop-goals meant the hosts returned to the halftime break with the momentum.

"The tough part at those times occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we must maintain to our guns and our convictions the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we knew if we started the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Even with 15 minutes left, we were positioned on our own line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who manages best in those circumstances the best."

Each effort came within close succession as the fly-half who executed three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers for Sale in a Prem game played in tough circumstances at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"These attempts are consistently planned," Ford stated further.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager that he consistently reminding me, and correctly so since three points are crucial at any stage of play."

Ford guided his team superbly across the pitch the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - both to compete and locating gaps against the defensive line.

His characteristic high spiral kick further confused the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in England's win versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford passed on the fly-half position to the younger Smith during the Fiji match a week later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his starting role.

The English team, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, play against Argentina this month and it will be interesting to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of play remaining for him.