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During November 2024, national team playmaker George Ford looked disheartened during the match.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to assist England secure an historic victory against New Zealand, however missed a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team lost in a close contest.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity at delivering glory for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of strong showings, particularly on the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to a breakthrough triumph against the All Blacks in their own stadium since 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

This enabled the English recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed during the final period to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, notably George," Borthwick told. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"One year earlier In my view George entered and performed really well [facing the Kiwis].

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

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks commenced strongly during the match, racing into a twelve-point advantage with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's consecutive three-pointers resulted in the home side bounced into the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect in those moments is, when the scoreboard says 12-0, we must maintain to our guns and our philosophy the best way to compete is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into contention and we recognized should we begin the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Even with a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up near our try line with a yellow card, meaning we faced difficulties in that instance too.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - which team can handle during those situations most effectively."

The two attempts happened within a two-minute span as the fly-half who successfully converted three drop-kicks during a victory versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, demonstrated his full international experience.

Ford converted two three-pointers for Sale in a league contest played in tough circumstances at Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts are consistently planned," Ford stated further.

"Steve is such an incredible coach that he consistently advising me, and appropriately as three points is valuable during any phase of the game."

Ford guided his side brilliantly around the field all game, making smart decisions - both in contestable situations and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

After beginning the national team's triumph over Australia during the autumn series, Ford handed over the number 10 jersey to the younger Smith during the Fiji match a week later.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season occurred versus the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his position.

England, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina this month creating intrigue to determine whether the coach returns for the younger Smith or persists with Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that there is plenty of rugby left within him.