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Back in November 2024, English number 10 George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

Ford had been summoned as a substitute to help England close out a memorable triumph versus the All Blacks, however missed a late penalty and drop-goal as his side were beaten by two points.

After those expensive errors, the player was required to strive to secure another chance to achieve success for England.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of excellent displays, particularly on the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were absent for Lions team responsibilities, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust through his selection facing the Kiwis, but the Sale Sharks playmaker produced a man-of-the-match display to help the hosts to their initial victory over New Zealand at home since 2012.

The crucial point came when Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession immediately preceding halftime.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to trail 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled during the final period to help his side to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"You have to give credit to the senior players on our squad, especially George," Borthwick told. "During that phase when he converted those drop-kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George entered and performed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

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

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

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks started quickly in the stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks resulted in the home side entered the locker room with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect at those times occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our strategy and our philosophy the optimal approach to compete is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into contention and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we were in a favorable situation.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves defending our goal line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"I believe this illustrates elite competition requires - who manages best with those moments the best."

Both kicks occurred within a two-minute span while the number 10 who nailed three crucial kicks during a victory versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford hit two three-pointers for Sale during a Premiership match played in challenging weather versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

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

"Steve is such an incredible coach that he is always reminding me, and appropriately as three points are crucial during any phase of the game."

Ford guided his team superbly throughout the match the entire match, making smart decisions - both to compete and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His signature high spiral kick further confused the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Having started the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the starting role to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The national side, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to learn whether the coach returns with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining from a World Cup that there is plenty of play remaining in him.