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In November 2024, England fly-half George Ford cut a dejected figure during the match.

Ford had been summoned as a substitute to assist England complete a famous win facing the Kiwis, but instead missed a late penalty and drop-goal as his side were beaten by a narrow margin.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to get another shot at delivering glory for England.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations but a string of impressive performances, particularly on the summer tour of Argentina and the United States while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him against the All Blacks, but the Sale Sharks playmaker achieved a best-player showing to assist England to a breakthrough triumph versus the Kiwis in their own stadium since 2012.

The crucial point came when 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, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed in the second half to help his side to a decisive 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the veteran members within our side, especially George," the manager commented. "In that moment as he scored those crucial kicks, he controlled the match absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I thought George came on and played exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, an outstanding athlete plus a better human being. We are fortunate to include him in our squad."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis began rapidly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage with tries by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back three-pointers resulted in the home side returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The difficult aspect in those moments comes when the board shows a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our strategy and what we believe the optimal approach to play the game is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into contention and we knew were we to commence the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Despite having a quarter-hour remaining, we found ourselves near our try line with a yellow card, so we had challenges there as well.

"I believe this illustrates Test rugby is - who manages best with those moments superiorly."

Each effort came within two minutes of each other as the fly-half who successfully converted three crucial kicks in a win versus Argentina in the last global tournament, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-kicks with Sale during a Premiership match conducted in difficult conditions at Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he is always reminding me, and correctly so as three points is valuable throughout the match of competition."

Ford guided his team superbly across the pitch all game, kicking smartly - both to compete and in finding space against the defensive line.

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

Having started the national team's triumph versus the Wallabies on 1 November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to his replacement during the Fiji match seven days later.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season occurred versus the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his spot.

The English team, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina in late November creating intrigue to discover if the manager opts for the younger Smith or continues with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford proved with two years remaining from a World Cup that significant amounts of career ahead in him.