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Back in November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened during the match.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to support England close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, but instead failed to convert a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as his side were beaten in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity at delivering glory to the English team.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, notably in the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old not only repaid Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to support the home team to a first win against the All Blacks in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered in the second half to support England to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the senior players within our side, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment when he converted those crucial kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"Last year In my view George entered and performed really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are privileged to have him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks began rapidly in the stadium, building a 12-point lead through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive three-pointers ensured England entered the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing at those times comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our plan and what we believe the best way to perform is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into it and we knew if we started the final period strongly, with substitutes entering, we were in a favorable situation.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves defending our goal line with a yellow card, so we had challenges there as well.

"I think that's what Test rugby is - which team can handle in those circumstances most effectively."

Each effort occurred within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who successfully converted three crucial kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale in a league contest played in difficult conditions versus Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks is always in the plan," Ford added.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he consistently advising me, and rightly so because three points prove important at any stage of play."

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

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

Having started the English victory over Australia during the autumn series, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn was presented by the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his position.

The English team, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, face Argentina in late November creating intrigue to learn if the manager opts with the alternative or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that significant amounts of play remaining within him.