{"id":453181,"date":"2026-03-02T06:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/453181\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T06:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:38:12","slug":"whatever-happened-to-elliot-daly-england-need-their-mr-versatile-against-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/453181\/","title":{"rendered":"Whatever happened to Elliot Daly? England need their Mr Versatile against Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whatever happened to Elliot Daly? Last sighted holding tackle bags in England training, the versatile virtuoso has disappeared from public view.<\/p>\n

A brief reminder of his form. Daly played the first three games for the British & Irish Lions in Australia before calamity struck in the shape of a fractured arm, an inserted plate and 16 screws<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He had been outstanding until the injury against the Reds ended his tour and his hopes of a place in the Test squad. \u201cEverybody watching him through the early part of the Lions series was thinking about him in the Test team.\u201d Not my words; they belong to the England head coach, Steve Borthwick, shortly before Daly returned to England duty against Argentina in the last match of England\u2019s autumn series.<\/p>\n

\"Elliot<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old has been giving his all on the training field \u2014 as those unselected elements of the squad that were once known as \u201cshags\u201d always do \u2014 to prove his worth to the coaches<\/p>\n

DAN MULLAN\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have the best of games against the Pumas<\/a> but one indifferent match doesn\u2019t alter the broader parameters behind a selection strategy. There\u2019s all that Test rugby experience. The voice he brings on the pitch is very, very good. So said Borthwick.<\/p>\n

Daly\u2019s detractors will state that his 33 years make him an unlikely member of next year\u2019s World Cup squad. Not according to his international head coach: \u201cI\u2019ve no doubt he can go the next couple of years until the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t say I have always seen eye to eye with Borthwick but he\u2019s right when he reckoned \u201cplayers who read the game like [Daly does], smart rugby players \u2026 can play even longer [at a high level] in their careers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Borthwick again: \u201cExperience of Test rugby is vital \u2026 [such players are] worth their weight in gold.\u201d Elliot\u2019s experience, the rugby world was informed pre-Argentina at Twickenham, is \u201cone of those\u201d. There\u2019s not a word of disagreement from this quarter.<\/p>\n

So what has happened to Daly? He\u2019s on the training field, giving his all, as those unselected elements of the squad that were once known as \u201cshags\u201d always have done. He\u2019s striving in private alongside other veterans such as Henry Slade to prove his worth to the management. Yet what does he have to prove? He was able to work on his speed during his time out injured. He\u2019s probably as quick, if not faster than ever \u2026 and yes, you can guess who said that.<\/p>\n

\"Elliot<\/p>\n

Daly has featured only once for England since fracturing an arm playing for the Lions last summer<\/p>\n

DAVID ROGERS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a horrible hole where squad members disappear. Doing their stuff behind the closed curtains of training. It was only a few months ago that Borthwick was espousing the virtues of Daly. Now he has become that quietly heartbreaking term for a player, the indispensable squad member.<\/p>\n

Yet England have holes in need of plugging, in positions where Daly has that vast experience and class. Let\u2019s start at 15. George Furbank is perceived by many as the alternative to the dogged and determined Freddie Steward but the Northampton Saint is short of match time and is a Test rookie compared with Daly.<\/p>\n

Full back is a crucial position if England want to turn their theory of territorial pressure into counterattacking opportunities from hurried clearance kicks. Furbank undoubtedly has the knack of seeing space, but so too does Daly, and the Saracen has the more refined boot to play his part in the kicking game. He is surely part of the debate at full back before England face Italy on Saturday.<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s just remind ourselves of the impending situation. From a 12-match winning run to a pair of memorably poor performances against Scotland<\/a> and Ireland<\/a>. Italy are playing some of their best rugby. They beat Scotland, were unfortunate not to get even closer to Ireland than a seven-point losing margin in Dublin, and stayed with France for an hour.<\/p>\n

England have never lost to Italy. Defeat in Rome and it would be England burning, this Six Nations<\/a> season and the build-up to the World Cup in tatters. Isn\u2019t Test match experience vital in such circumstances? Isn\u2019t that voice of his \u201cvery, very good\u201d? Isn\u2019t this pressure cooker of a Test made for Daly?<\/p>\n

\"Elliot<\/p>\n

Daly could plug holes at full back, wing or centre, or make an impact off the bench in Rome<\/p>\n

MARK PAIN\/ALAMY<\/p>\n

If not at full back, what about wing? In the absence of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Daly is closer to being a starting wing. Are England going to recall the aerial power of Tom Roebuck, stick with Henry Arundell or will they consider the elegant Daly arcing lines in attack and that subtle left boot of his to be utilised from wing instead of full back?<\/p>\n

If not full back, if not wing, there\u2019s his own favourite position of centre. It isn\u2019t where I most like seeing Daly play Test matches. For all those glorious running lines of his, there have been just a few too many missed tackles over the years. The hosts have a wonderful centre partnership in Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex. I close my eyes and admit to seeing him slip off a tackle.<\/p>\n

But no more than Ollie Lawrence \u2014 if fit \u2014 and as for Tommy Freeman, he\u2019s so inexperienced as an international outside centre that it\u2019s easy to imagine him not so much falling off his opposite man as being suckered into the no man\u2019s land where England often find themselves outflanked on \u201cthe edge\u201d.<\/p>\n

If Borthwick<\/a> doesn\u2019t think he needs to trust the much-talked-about Test experience in any of these three positions, there\u2019s the overriding reason to include him in the match-day 23. Daly covers all three positions and allows maximum flexibility from the bench. If there are strong claims to include him at full back, wing or centre, the cry to include him as an impact replacement is deafening.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d probably pick him on the bench. No lesser a voice than that of Borthwick has previously articulated why Daly merits being more than the mere \u201cshag\u201d, holding the training-ground tackle bags. Nothing has changed. Proven excellence and experience still count for plenty. Don\u2019t leave it all on the training field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whatever happened to Elliot Daly? Last sighted holding tackle bags in England training, the versatile virtuoso has disappeared…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-453181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}