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Back in November 2024, national team playmaker Ford looked disheartened during the match.

Ford had been summoned as a substitute to support the home side complete a famous win versus the All Blacks, however failed to convert a late penalty plus a drop-goal attempt while his team fell short by a narrow margin.

In the wake of those pivotal failures, 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 impressive performances, especially during the warm-weather tour versus Argentine and American teams while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, put him firmly back in the starting mix.

At 32 years old fully validated the coach's trust by selecting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout delivered a player-of-the-match performance to help England to a first win against the All Blacks at home ending a drought dating to 2012.

The decisive instant came when Ford nailed consecutive drop-kicks right before half-time.

It helped England recover from 12-0 down to trail 12-11 when the half ended, ahead of the manager's skilled reserves once more performed during the final period to assist the team to a decisive 33-19 victory.

"You have to give credit to the veteran members in our team, particularly Ford," Borthwick told. "In that moment when he converted those crucial kicks, he controlled the match remarkably well.

"Last year I believed Ford entered and performed really well [facing the Kiwis].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a difficult drop-goal, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a superb performer and an even finer individual. We are fortunate to include him on our team."

Drop-goals 'part of the strategy'

The All Blacks started quickly at Allianz Stadium, racing into a twelve-point advantage via touchdowns by two key players.

Subsequent to Ollie Lawrence's impressive score, Ford's back-to-back drop-kicks ensured England entered the halftime break with the momentum.

"The difficult aspect at those times occurs as the display indicates 12-0, we must maintain to our guns and our philosophy the superior method to play the game is," Ford explained.

"We fought our way back into the game and we recognized should we begin the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we were in an advantageous spot.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we ended up near our try line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I believe this illustrates international rugby involves - who can deal in those circumstances superiorly."

Both kicks occurred within a two-minute span as Ford who executed three drop-kicks in a win facing the Argentine team during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals with Sale in a league contest occurring during tough circumstances against Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"These attempts are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Borthwick represents a phenomenal leader that he is always in my ear about it, and rightly so as three points prove important at any stage of the game."

Ford guided England excellently around the field the entire match, making smart decisions - for both attacking and defensive purposes and identifying openings in the opposition's territory.

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

Following his start in the English victory against Australia during the autumn series, Ford relinquished the starting role to his replacement against Fiji a week later.

Yet the most significant examination in terms of difficulty was presented by the multiple World Cup winners, so Ford returned to his position.

The English team, presently maintaining an unbeaten streak of ten, meet Argentina in late November and it will be interesting to determine if Borthwick goes back to Fin Smith or maintains Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established with two years remaining before the World Cup that significant amounts of rugby left for him.