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In November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to support England secure a famous win facing the Kiwis, however missed a crucial penalty and drop-goal as his side fell short by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to achieve success to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of excellent displays, especially during the summer tour against Argentina and the USA while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old not only repaid the coach's trust in starting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to assist the home team to a first win against the All Blacks on home soil for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford converted two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves again delivered during the final period to help his side to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players within our side, notably George," the manager commented. "During that phase when he converted those drop-goals, he directed play remarkably well.

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

"A kick hit the post while he attempted a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him in our squad."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

The All Blacks started quickly in the stadium, building a twelve-point advantage with tries by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive drop-kicks ensured England bounced into the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing at those times is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our plan and our convictions the superior method to perform is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into it and we knew were we to commence the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Even with 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - which team can handle during those situations most effectively."

Both kicks occurred within a two-minute span while the number 10 who executed three drop-goals in a win versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, displayed his complete century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale in a league contest conducted in challenging weather at Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he is always in my ear about it, and rightly so because three points prove important throughout the match of play."

Ford guided his side brilliantly around the field the complete contest, making smart decisions - both to compete and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

After beginning England's win versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to his replacement against Fiji a week later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The English team, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, meet Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to learn if the manager opts to Fin Smith or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of rugby left in him.