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During November 2024, England fly-half George Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon from the bench to assist England complete a famous win facing the Kiwis, yet failed to convert a late penalty and drop-goal as England were beaten by two points.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, Ford had to work hard to earn another opportunity to bring victory for England.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple excellent displays, particularly on the summer matches of Argentina and the United States as 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 coach's trust through his selection versus New Zealand, plus the club standout achieved a best-player showing to support England to a first win against the All Blacks in their own stadium ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment occurred as Ford converted 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 by halftime, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled after halftime to help his side to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, notably George," the manager commented. "That period as he scored those drop-kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year In my view George entered and performed very effectively [against New Zealand].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a pressured drop-kick, however his play was outstanding.

"He's an exceptional captain, an outstanding athlete and an even better person. We are honored to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

New Zealand started quickly in the stadium, surging to a substantial early margin through scores from two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's strong try, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals meant the hosts bounced into the halftime break with renewed energy.

"The tough part at those times is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we must maintain to our guns and our convictions the best way to compete is," Ford explained.

"We got ourselves back into it and we knew should we begin the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we found ourselves in a good position.

"Despite having fifteen minutes to go, we ended up defending our goal line after a penalty, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - who manages best in those circumstances most effectively."

The two attempts came within a two-minute span as the fly-half who executed three crucial kicks in a win versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two three-pointers representing Sale in a Prem game played in difficult conditions versus Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"It [the drop-goals] form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"Steve is such a phenomenal leader that he is always in my ear about it, and appropriately as three points are crucial at any stage of the game."

Ford guided his team superbly around the field the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - both to compete and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His characteristic high spiral kick additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who couldn't collect.

Following his start in the national team's triumph over Australia in early November, Ford passed on the fly-half position to Fin Smith against Fiji the following week.

However the greatest challenge theoretically this season came against the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his position.

England, presently maintaining 10 straight wins, face Argentina this month and curiosity remains to discover whether the coach returns with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford proved with two years remaining from a World Cup that ample opportunity of career ahead within him.