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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to support England close out a memorable triumph against New Zealand, but instead failed to convert a crucial penalty and drop-goal while his team were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity to bring victory for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, particularly on the summer matches of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were away on British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly in the starting mix.

The veteran player fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to assist the home team to their initial victory over New Zealand in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled in the second half to help his side to a convincing 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, especially George," the manager commented. "During that phase when he converted those crucial kicks, he managed the game remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago I thought George substituted and competed really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, building a substantial early margin via touchdowns by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive drop-goals resulted in the home side returned to the changing rooms with the momentum.

"The challenging thing at those times occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we can stick to our strategy and our philosophy the optimal approach to perform is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we knew should we begin the second half well, with substitutes entering, we would be in a good position.

"Although facing fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - which team can handle in those circumstances most effectively."

The two attempts happened within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, displayed his complete international experience.

Ford hit two three-pointers representing Sale in a Prem game occurring during challenging weather against Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford continued.

"Steve is such an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and correctly so because three points are crucial throughout the match of play."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space against the defensive line.

His characteristic tactical bomb additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith against Fiji seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The national side, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead within him.