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During November 2024, national team playmaker Ford appeared disappointed at Allianz Stadium.

The replacement was brought on from the bench to assist the home side complete a famous win against New Zealand, but instead missed a late penalty and drop-goal while his team fell short in a close contest.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to earn another opportunity to bring victory to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes throughout the Six Nations tournament however a series of strong showings, notably in the summer matches against Argentina and the USA while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were absent for Lions team responsibilities, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old fully validated Steve Borthwick's faith by selecting him against the All Blacks, and the Sharks star produced a man-of-the-match display to support the hosts to their initial victory versus the Kiwis in their own stadium for the first time since 2012.

The decisive instant in the game Ford converted back-to-back drop-goals immediately preceding halftime.

This assisted England overcome a 12-0 deficit to reduce the margin to 12-11 at the break, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves repeatedly excelled after halftime to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 triumph.

"Credit must be given to the veteran members within our side, particularly Ford," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he directed play just incredibly.

"One year earlier I believed Ford came on and played very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

"A attempt hit the upright and he tried a pressured drop-kick, yet he performed excellently.

"He's a tremendous guide, a brilliant player and an even better person. We are fortunate to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The Kiwis started quickly during the match, racing into a substantial early margin through scores from two key players.

Following Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, the fly-half's successive drop-kicks ensured England entered the locker room with the momentum.

"The challenging thing during those periods occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we can stick to our strategy and what we believe the superior method to play the game is," Ford stated.

"We worked our way back into the game and we knew if we started the final period strongly, as reserves joined, we found ourselves in a favorable situation.

"Even with 15 minutes left, we ended up defending our goal line after a penalty, so we had challenges in that instance too.

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

Both kicks occurred within a two-minute span as Ford who successfully converted three crucial kicks during a victory facing the Argentine team in the last global tournament, demonstrated his full 104-cap experience.

Ford converted two drop-kicks with Sale during a Premiership match played in difficult conditions versus Bath - this represents an ability he is well-practised in.

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

"The coach is such an incredible coach that he is always reminding me, and correctly so as three points is valuable at any stage of play."

Ford directed England excellently across the pitch the entire match, making smart decisions - both to compete and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' also bamboozled the New Zealand player, who mishandled the ball.

Having started the English victory against Australia on 1 November, Ford relinquished the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith against Fiji the following week.

Yet the most significant examination on paper this autumn came against the experienced New Zealand team, so Ford returned to his spot.

The national side, currently enjoying ten consecutive victories, play against Argentina this month and curiosity remains to determine if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Whatever choice occurs, Ford established two years away before the World Cup that significant amounts of play remaining in him.