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Back in November 2024, national team playmaker George Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon as a substitute to assist the hosts close out an historic victory facing the Kiwis, yet failed to convert a crucial penalty and drop-goal as England lost by two points.

Following those costly misses, the player was required to strive to secure another chance to bring victory for England.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament but a string of strong showings, especially during the summer matches against Argentina and the USA while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old fully validated the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to their initial victory over New Zealand at home for the first time since 2012.

The pivotal moment in the game Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench repeatedly excelled during the final period to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 victory.

"Recognition should be offered to the experienced players on our squad, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "In that moment where he hit those drop-kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"Last year I believed Ford entered and performed really well [facing the Kiwis].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a difficult drop-goal, but he played really well.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are fortunate to feature him in our squad."

Drop-kicks 'consistently planned'

New Zealand started quickly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a twelve-point advantage with tries by two key players.

After Lawrence's strong try, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks meant the hosts entered the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The challenging thing during those periods is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we are able to adhere to our strategy and what we believe the best way to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into it and we knew should we begin the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up near our try line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - which team can handle during those situations the best."

The two attempts happened within close succession as the fly-half who successfully converted three crucial kicks in a win versus Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers with Sale during a Premiership match occurring during challenging weather at Bath - this represents an ability he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he consistently reminding me, and rightly so since three points is valuable during any phase of the game."

Ford marshalled his team superbly across the pitch the entire match, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His signature tactical bomb additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia on 1 November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

But the biggest test theoretically this season occurred versus the multiple World Cup winners, with Ford regaining his position.

England, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina in late November creating intrigue to discover if the manager opts for the younger Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left within him.