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During November 2024, English number 10 Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on off the sidelines to support the hosts close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet was unable to score a crucial penalty and drop-goal while his team fell short by a narrow margin.

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

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, especially during the summer matches against Argentina and the USA when the Smith players were absent for Lions team responsibilities, returned him solidly as a starting option.

The 32-year-old did more than justify the coach's trust in starting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to their initial victory over New Zealand in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point came when Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed after halftime to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 win.

"You have to give credit to the senior players in our team, notably George," Borthwick told. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford substituted and competed very effectively [facing the Kiwis].

"One kick struck the post while he attempted a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete and an even finer individual. We are privileged to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis started quickly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a 12-point lead with tries by two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-goals meant the hosts bounced into the locker room with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect during those periods comes when the board shows 12-0, we must maintain to our plan and our philosophy the optimal approach to perform is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into it and we knew should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we were in a good position.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - who can deal in those circumstances the best."

Each effort came within a two-minute span as the fly-half who successfully converted three drop-kicks in a successful match versus Argentina in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks representing Sale in a Prem game conducted in difficult conditions at Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an outstanding manager that he consistently reminding me, and correctly so since three points prove important throughout the match of competition."

Ford marshalled his team superbly around the field all game, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps in the opposition's territory.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled Beauden Barrett, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia in early November, Ford passed on the starting role to the younger Smith during the Fiji match seven days later.

However the greatest challenge on paper this autumn came against the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his starting role.

England, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina on 23 November and it will be interesting to determine if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established with two years remaining before the World Cup that ample opportunity of career ahead for him.