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Back in November 2024, England fly-half Ford looked disheartened at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon from the bench to assist England complete a famous win against New Zealand, but instead was unable to score a decisive kick plus a drop-goal attempt while his team were beaten in a close contest.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to achieve success for England.

He saw just 25 minutes of action during this year's Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, notably in the summer tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, returned him solidly as a starting option.

The veteran player fully validated the coach's trust in starting him versus New Zealand, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to assist England to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis in their own stadium since 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford nailed two drop-goals in succession just before the break.

This assisted England recover from 12-0 down to narrow the gap to 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves again delivered after halftime to help his side to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "In that moment as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago I thought George came on and played really well [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he had a difficult drop-goal, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are honored to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis commenced strongly in the stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers meant the hosts entered the halftime break with the momentum.

"The tough part in those moments is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we can stick to our plan and our philosophy the superior method to perform is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into it and we recognized should we begin the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Although facing 15 minutes left, we found ourselves on our own line after a penalty, meaning we faced difficulties there as well.

"In my opinion that represents elite competition requires - which team can handle in those circumstances the best."

The two attempts occurred within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who nailed three drop-kicks in a successful match facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks with Sale during a Premiership match played in tough circumstances against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

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

"The coach is such an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and rightly so as three points are crucial at any stage of competition."

Ford marshalled his team superbly throughout the match all game, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space in the opposition's territory.

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

After beginning England's win versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match a week later.

But the biggest test on paper this autumn was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his spot.

The English team, now on a run of 10 straight wins, meet Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine whether the coach returns with the alternative or continues with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament from a World Cup that ample opportunity of rugby left in him.