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In November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to assist England secure a famous win against New Zealand, however failed to convert a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team fell short in a close contest.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, the player was required to strive to earn another opportunity to achieve success for the national side.

He saw just 25 minutes of action during this year's Six Nations however a series of strong showings, especially during the summer matches of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence in starting him versus New Zealand, but the Sale Sharks playmaker delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help the home team to a first win against the All Blacks in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point came when Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals right before half-time.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 when the half ended, prior to the coach's talented substitutes once more performed during the final period to support England to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"You have to give credit to the experienced players on our squad, especially George," the coach stated. "In that moment as he scored those drop-goals, he managed the game just incredibly.

"One year earlier In my view George came on and played very effectively [against New Zealand].

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

"He's a tremendous guide, an outstanding athlete and an even finer individual. We are privileged to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand commenced strongly in the stadium, building a substantial early margin through scores from two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive drop-goals ensured England entered the halftime break with the momentum.

"The challenging thing in those moments is, when the scoreboard says twelve to zero, we must maintain to our guns and what we believe the optimal approach to compete is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into contention and we recognized should we begin the second half well, with the bench coming on, we would be in a favorable situation.

"Although facing 15 minutes left, we ended up near our try line following a card, thus we encountered obstacles during that phase also.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - who can deal with those moments the best."

The two attempts happened within a two-minute span as Ford who successfully converted three drop-kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, displayed his complete international experience.

Ford hit two drop-kicks for Sale in a league contest occurring during tough circumstances at Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] is always in the plan," Ford added.

"Steve is such an outstanding manager that he is always advising me, and correctly so as three points prove important during any phase of play."

Ford directed his team superbly throughout the match the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and locating gaps against the defensive line.

His characteristic tactical bomb further confused Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory the following week.

But the biggest test theoretically this season occurred versus the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his starting role.

England, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine whether the coach returns to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated with two years remaining from a World Cup that there is plenty of career ahead for him.