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During November 2024, English number 10 George Ford looked disheartened during the match.

He was called upon from the bench to help the home side complete a famous win facing the Kiwis, however was unable to score a late penalty along with a drop-kick as his side lost by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to bring victory for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations however a series of excellent displays, notably in the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams when the Smith players were away on Lions tour commitments, returned him solidly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old did more than justify the manager's confidence in starting him versus New Zealand, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to support England to a first win versus the Kiwis on home soil for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford successfully executed consecutive drop-kicks just before the break.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled during the final period to help his side to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the senior players within our side, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "That period as he scored those crucial kicks, he managed the game remarkably well.

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

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks started quickly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks meant the hosts bounced into the halftime break with the momentum.

"The tough part in those moments occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we can stick to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to compete is," Ford stated.

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

"Even with 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

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

Each effort came within two minutes of each other as Ford who nailed three crucial kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two drop-goals with Sale in a Prem game played in challenging weather versus Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] is always in the plan," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he consistently advising me, and rightly so because three points prove important during any phase of the game."

Ford marshalled England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space against the defensive line.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

After beginning England's win against Australia in early November, Ford passed on the starting role to the younger Smith against Fiji seven days later.

However the greatest challenge in terms of difficulty came against the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his spot.

The national side, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina this month and curiosity remains to discover whether the coach returns with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead in him.