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Back in November 2024, England fly-half George Ford cut a dejected figure on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to help the hosts close out an historic victory against New Zealand, but instead was unable to score a late penalty along with a drop-kick while his team lost by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to get another shot to achieve success for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations however a series of strong showings, notably in the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

The 32-year-old fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist England to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks at home for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed after halftime to help his side to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the veteran members within our side, notably George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those crucial kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I thought George substituted and competed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"One kick struck the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player and an even finer individual. We are honored to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks began rapidly during the match, racing into a substantial early margin via touchdowns by two key players.

After Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks ensured England returned to the halftime break with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect during those periods occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our convictions the superior method to play the game is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into the game and we recognized if we started the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up on our own line with a yellow card, so we had challenges during that phase also.

"I think that's what Test rugby is - who can deal with those moments most effectively."

The two attempts occurred within two minutes of each other as Ford who successfully converted three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers for Sale during a Premiership match occurring during tough circumstances versus Bath - this represents an ability he has extensively practiced.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he is always reminding me, and appropriately since three points is valuable during any phase of play."

Ford guided England excellently across the pitch the entire match, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His trademark high spiral kick also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

After beginning England's win versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford relinquished the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match seven days later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty was presented by the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

The English team, now on a run of an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina in late November creating intrigue to determine whether the coach returns with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford established ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left in him.