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In November 2024, England fly-half Ford cut a dejected figure at Allianz Stadium.

He was called upon as a substitute to support the hosts secure a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, yet was unable to score a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as his side fell short by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity to bring victory for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, especially during the summer matches of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players had departed for Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back among starting candidates.

The veteran player did more than justify the manager's confidence in starting him against the All Blacks, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to assist the hosts to a first win over New Zealand in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks right before half-time.

This enabled the English bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves again delivered in the second half to support England to a comfortable 33-19 victory.

"Credit must be given to the senior players in our team, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "During that phase when he converted those crucial kicks, he controlled the match absolutely brilliantly.

"Twelve months ago I believed Ford came on and played very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

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

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer plus a better human being. We are honored to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis began rapidly during the match, surging to a 12-point lead with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers resulted in the home side returned to the halftime break with psychological advantage.

"The tough part in those moments comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our guns and what we believe the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford stated.

"We fought our way back into contention and we recognized were we to commence the final period strongly, with the bench coming on, we would be in a good position.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up defending our goal line following a card, meaning we faced difficulties in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - which team can handle with those moments superiorly."

The two attempts happened within close succession as the fly-half who executed three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full century of caps experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals for Sale in a league contest occurring during challenging weather versus Bath - it is a skill he has mastered thoroughly.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford continued.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach that he consistently reminding me, and appropriately as three points are crucial throughout the match of competition."

Ford marshalled England excellently around the field all game, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings against the defensive line.

His trademark tactical bomb additionally troubled the opposing fullback, who failed to regather.

After beginning the national team's triumph versus the Wallabies during the autumn series, Ford passed on the starting role to Fin Smith against Fiji the following week.

Yet the most significant examination theoretically this season occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The English team, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, face Argentina this month and it will be interesting to learn if Borthwick goes back with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Whichever decision is made, Ford demonstrated ahead of the next tournament prior to global competition that significant amounts of rugby left for him.