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During November 2024, England fly-half George Ford appeared disappointed at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to support the home side secure a famous win facing the Kiwis, yet was unable to score a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt while his team were beaten by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to bring victory for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of impressive performances, especially during the summer matches against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

At 32 years old fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to assist England to a breakthrough triumph over New Zealand on home soil for the first time since 2012.

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

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench again delivered in the second half to support England to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members on our squad, particularly Ford," the manager commented. "During that phase where he hit those crucial kicks, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"Twelve months ago I thought George came on and played really well [against New Zealand].

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

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player and an even finer individual. We are honored to have him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis started quickly in the stadium, racing into a 12-point lead through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks ensured England returned to the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect at those times comes when the board shows twelve to zero, we must maintain to our plan and our convictions the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into it and we knew should we begin the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - which team can handle in those circumstances most effectively."

Both kicks came within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-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 drop-kicks with Sale in a Prem game conducted in difficult conditions against Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

"These attempts form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always in my ear about it, and appropriately since three points prove important at any stage of competition."

Ford guided his team superbly across the pitch the complete contest, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in the English victory over Australia during the autumn series, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to his replacement against Fiji seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn came against the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his position.

The national side, now on a run of 10 straight wins, face Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to discover if Borthwick goes back for the younger Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead for him.