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In November 2024, national team playmaker Ford appeared disappointed during the match.

He was called upon as a substitute to help England close out a famous win versus the All Blacks, yet failed to convert a crucial penalty along with a drop-kick while his team lost in a close contest.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity at delivering glory for the national side.

He played only 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, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to support England to their initial victory against the All Blacks in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point occurred as Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed in the second half to help his side to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players in our team, notably George," the manager commented. "That period when he converted those crucial kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"One year earlier I thought George entered and performed really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer plus a better human being. We are fortunate 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 with tries by two key players.

After Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers ensured England returned to the locker room with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing during those periods occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our plan and what we believe the best way to compete is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into contention and we knew should we begin the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we would be in an advantageous spot.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned near our try line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - who can deal with those moments superiorly."

The two attempts happened within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who executed three drop-goals in a successful match against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals with Sale during a Premiership match conducted in challenging weather versus Bath - this demonstrates a talent he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford continued.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always in my ear about it, and appropriately because three points is valuable throughout the match of competition."

Ford marshalled his team superbly throughout the match the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His trademark tactical bomb further confused the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the English victory over Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match the following week.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season came against the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his starting role.

England, now on a run of 10 straight wins, face Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead in him.