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In November 2024, English number 10 Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

Ford had been summoned off the sidelines to support the home side complete an historic victory facing the Kiwis, however failed to convert a late penalty along with a drop-kick while his team lost in a close contest.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to get another shot to bring victory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes in the recent Six Nations however a series of strong showings, notably in the summer matches of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players had departed for British and Irish Lions duty, put him firmly back as a starting option.

The veteran player 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 support England to their initial victory over New Zealand on home soil for the first time since 2012.

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

This assisted England recover from 12-0 down to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled after halftime to help his side to a convincing 33-19 win.

"You have to give credit to the senior players on our squad, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "During that phase as he scored those drop-goals, he directed play remarkably well.

"Last year I believed Ford entered and performed exceptionally well [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post while he attempted a drop-goal under pressure, yet he performed excellently.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even better person. We are fortunate to include him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a substantial early margin with tries by two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive drop-goals meant the hosts bounced into the changing rooms with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect during those periods occurs as the display indicates twelve to zero, we can stick to our plan and what we believe the superior method to compete is," Ford explained.

"We worked our way back into the game and we recognized should we begin the second half well, with the bench coming on, we were in a good position.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we were positioned on our own line following a card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"In my opinion that represents Test rugby is - which team can handle during those situations superiorly."

Each effort happened within a two-minute span as the fly-half who nailed three drop-kicks in a win facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two three-pointers with Sale during a Premiership match conducted in challenging weather against Bath - this demonstrates a talent he has mastered thoroughly.

"These attempts is always in the plan," Ford stated further.

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always in my ear about it, and correctly so since three points prove important during any phase of competition."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the complete contest, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space against the defensive line.

His characteristic 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford handed over the starting role to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty was presented by the experienced New Zealand team, with Ford regaining his spot.

England, currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of ten, play against Argentina this month and curiosity remains to discover whether the coach returns with the alternative or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford proved with two years remaining from a World Cup that there is plenty of rugby left in him.