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In November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to support the home side close out a famous win versus the All Blacks, however was unable to score a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt as his side were beaten by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to bring victory for England.

He saw just 25 minutes of action in the recent Six Nations however a series of excellent displays, especially during the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly as a starting option.

The veteran player fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith in starting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to support England to a first win versus the Kiwis in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant occurred as Ford successfully executed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled during the final period to help his side to a comfortable 33-19 triumph.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players on our squad, notably George," the coach stated. "During that phase when he converted those drop-goals, he directed play just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George substituted and competed very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's an exceptional captain, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are honored to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis started quickly during the match, surging to a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers meant the hosts bounced into the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect during those periods occurs as the display indicates a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and our convictions the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford said.

"We got ourselves back into it and we knew if we started the second half well, as reserves joined, we would be in an advantageous spot.

"Although facing fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves on our own line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - which team can handle in those circumstances most effectively."

Each effort happened within two minutes of each other as Ford who executed three drop-goals in a win versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, displayed his complete 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers for Sale in a Prem game played in difficult conditions against Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"These attempts are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Steve is such an outstanding manager that he consistently advising me, and appropriately since three points prove important during any phase of play."

Ford directed his team superbly around the field the complete contest, kicking smartly - both in contestable situations and locating gaps behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature high spiral kick also bamboozled the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia on 1 November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn occurred versus the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his starting role.

England, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, meet Argentina in late November creating intrigue to discover if the manager opts to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated two years away from a World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left within him.