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During November 2024, England fly-half Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to support England close out a famous win versus the All Blacks, but instead failed to convert a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team were beaten by two points.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to achieve success for England.

He saw just 25 minutes of action throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of impressive performances, especially during the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

The 32-year-old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to assist the hosts to their initial victory against the All Blacks in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English overcome a 12-0 deficit to trail 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled during the final period to assist the team to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members within our side, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those drop-kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"One year earlier I thought George substituted and competed exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are privileged to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis started quickly in the stadium, racing into a twelve-point advantage through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks meant the hosts returned to the locker room with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect in those moments occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our plan and our philosophy the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we recognized should we begin the second half well, as reserves joined, we would be in a good position.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves on our own line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties during that phase also.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - who manages best with those moments superiorly."

Each effort occurred within two minutes of each other as Ford who executed three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, displayed his complete 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers for Sale in a league contest occurring during challenging weather versus Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

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

"The coach is such an outstanding manager that he is always reminding me, and correctly so as three points prove important during any phase of competition."

Ford directed England excellently throughout the match the complete contest, kicking smartly - both to compete and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic tactical bomb further confused Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Having started the national team's triumph over Australia on 1 November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match the following week.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty was presented by the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his position.

England, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina on 23 November and curiosity remains to discover whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left for him.