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During November 2024, England fly-half Ford looked disheartened during the match.

He was called upon as a substitute to support England complete an historic victory versus the All Blacks, however failed to convert a late penalty and drop-goal while his team were beaten by two points.

After those expensive errors, Ford had to work hard to secure another chance to bring victory to the English team.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament yet multiple excellent displays, especially during the summer matches of Argentina and the United States as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were away on British and Irish Lions duty, reestablished him strongly in the starting mix.

The veteran player not only repaid the manager's confidence by selecting him facing the Kiwis, and the Sharks star delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to their initial victory against the All Blacks in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant in the game Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to narrow the gap to 12-11 when the half ended, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed in the second half to assist the team to a convincing 33-19 triumph.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players in our team, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "In that moment where he hit those drop-goals, he directed play just incredibly.

"Twelve months ago I believed Ford entered and performed exceptionally well [facing the Kiwis].

"A kick hit the post and he tried a pressured drop-kick, but he played really well.

"He's a tremendous guide, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are honored to feature him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The All Blacks began rapidly during the match, surging to a twelve-point advantage with tries by Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's consecutive drop-kicks resulted in the home side entered the halftime break with the momentum.

"The challenging thing in those moments comes when the board shows 12-0, we can stick to our guns and our philosophy the superior method to play the game is," Ford said.

"We worked our way back into contention and we understood should we begin the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we would be in a good position.

"Even with fifteen minutes to go, we ended up defending our goal line with a yellow card, so we had challenges during that phase also.

"I think that's what international rugby involves - who can deal in those circumstances the best."

Each effort happened within a two-minute span as Ford who executed three crucial kicks during a victory against Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his century of caps experience.

Ford successfully executed two drop-goals representing Sale in a league contest played in challenging weather versus Bath - it is a skill he is well-practised in.

"The drop-kicks form part of our strategy," Ford stated further.

"The coach is such an outstanding manager that he is always reminding me, and rightly so because three points are crucial during any phase of competition."

Ford directed his team superbly across the pitch all game, kicking smartly - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space behind the visitors' backfield.

His signature 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled Beauden Barrett, who mishandled the ball.

After beginning England's win over Australia on 1 November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to Fin Smith for the Fiji victory seven days later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, with Ford regaining his position.

The national side, presently maintaining ten consecutive victories, meet Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to discover if the manager opts for the younger Smith or maintains Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established two years away before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left for him.