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During November 2024, national team playmaker Ford cut a dejected figure on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon off the sidelines to assist the hosts complete a famous win against New Zealand, however was unable to score a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as England lost by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity at delivering glory to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations yet multiple strong showings, notably in the summer matches of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

The 32-year-old did more than justify the coach's trust by selecting him facing the Kiwis, and the Sharks star produced a man-of-the-match display to help the hosts to a breakthrough triumph over New Zealand in their own stadium since 2012.

The crucial point came when Ford successfully executed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled after halftime to support England to a decisive 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members on our squad, especially George," the coach stated. "During that phase where he hit those crucial kicks, he managed the game just incredibly.

"Last year I thought George came on and played really well [versus the All Blacks].

"A kick hit the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, but he played really well.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are fortunate to feature him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, building a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals resulted in the home side returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The challenging thing at those times comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our guns and what we believe the optimal approach to compete is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we recognized should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Although facing fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves defending our goal line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles there as well.

"I think that's what international rugby involves - who manages best in those circumstances superiorly."

The two attempts happened within a two-minute span as the fly-half who nailed three drop-kicks during a victory against Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers for Sale in a league contest conducted in tough circumstances at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

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

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

Ford guided his team superbly around the field the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both in contestable situations and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who mishandled the ball.

Following his start in the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith against Fiji a week later.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his spot.

The English team, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, face Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to learn if the manager opts for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford proved ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that there is plenty of play remaining in him.