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Back in November 2024, England fly-half Ford appeared disappointed on the Allianz Stadium turf.

The replacement was brought on as a substitute to assist the home side secure a memorable triumph against New Zealand, yet was unable to score a crucial penalty plus a drop-goal attempt as his side were beaten by two points.

Following those costly misses, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to achieve success for the national side.

His playing time was limited to 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations yet multiple excellent displays, notably in the warm-weather tour of Argentina and the United States when the Smith players were away on Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him versus New Zealand, and the Sharks star achieved a best-player showing to assist the home team to a first win over New Zealand at home for the first time since 2012.

The crucial point in the game Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to reduce the margin to 12-11 by halftime, prior to the coach's talented substitutes repeatedly excelled during the final period to help his side to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Recognition should be offered to the senior players in our team, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "During that phase where he hit those drop-kicks, he controlled the match just incredibly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford came on and played exceptionally well [against New Zealand].

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

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer plus a better human being. We are privileged to feature him on our team."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

New Zealand commenced strongly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a 12-point lead via touchdowns by Fainga'anuku and Taylor.

Following Ollie Lawrence's powerful finish, Ford's back-to-back drop-goals meant the hosts returned to the changing rooms with renewed energy.

"The tough part during those periods is, when the scoreboard says a twelve-point deficit, we can stick to our strategy and what we believe the best way to perform is," Ford said.

"We fought our way back into it and we knew were we to commence the latter half effectively, with substitutes entering, we would be in a good position.

"Although facing fifteen minutes to go, we found ourselves on our own line following a card, so we had challenges in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - who can deal during those situations superiorly."

Each effort happened within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who successfully converted three crucial kicks in a successful match against Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, displayed his complete 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two drop-kicks for Sale during a Premiership match played in challenging weather at 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 consistently in my ear about it, and correctly so because three points prove important at any stage of play."

Ford marshalled his team superbly throughout the match the entire match, executing intelligent kicks - for both attacking and defensive purposes and in finding space in the opposition's territory.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the English victory against Australia in early November, Ford relinquished the fly-half position to his replacement against Fiji a week later.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty came against the three-time world champions, and Ford reclaimed his spot.

The national side, currently enjoying 10 straight wins, meet Argentina on 23 November creating intrigue to determine if the manager opts with the alternative or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford demonstrated two years away prior to global competition that ample opportunity of rugby left in him.