If Eddie Jones lost Elliot Daly’s number, Steve Borthwick has the utility back on speed dial.
Former England boss Jones cast Daly into the Test wilderness after the 2022 Six Nations. The moment Borthwick replaced Jones at the England helm, however, Saracens star Daly was the new head coach’s first call.
Borthwick would never indulge in hyperbole nor soft-soap a player. The 43-year-old’s haste to end Daly’s exile ultimately airs his views on the versatile playmaker on loudspeaker.
Daly would have played in the Six Nations but for injury, and now has a big chance against Wales on Saturday to state his selection case for England’s Rugby World Cup first XV.
The 30-year-old playmaker favours outside centre himself, but is an accomplished performer at wing and full-back, too. The 57-capper will start at left wing on Saturday, in a role as exciting as it is significant.
Daly and Max Malins will battle for that berth at the World Cup, offering pace and finishing prowess first. But both boast the ability to operate as auxiliary playmakers in midfield.
The presence of a left wing roaming off their flank to add shape and direction to the attack will allow Borthwick to pair powerhouses Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi at centre.
Without the extra ingenuity and creativity of Daly and Malins on the wing, a Lawrence-Tuilagi midfield combination could come across fairly flat. Instead, England can flex muscle and wield wit at the same time.
Borthwick has prized versatility in his 33-man World Cup squad selection, and a dive into his pool stage preparations shows exactly why.
England’s new boss has decided to prepare four bespoke gameplans for their Pool D opponents in France, Argentina, Japan, Chile and Samoa. If this sounds familiar to England’s recent football approach, it should.
Borthwick and Gareth Southgate have struck up a firm friendship, and the two recently had lunch, where England’s rugby boss picked his counterpart’s brain on all things World Cup.
Daly has a big chance against Wales to state his selection case for England’s Rugby World Cup first XV
Southgate and assistant Steve Holland have been meticulous in setting up single-match strategies that are drilled, employed, then immediately dispensed, and the approach has rightly drawn high praise.
So Borthwick is delighted to have Daly, who can not only start in three positions but also boasts a left-footed tactical kicking option and a prodigious goal-kicking boot.
Daly and Joe Marchant making the final squad for France puts England’s possible midfield-three combinations into double figures.
Borthwick’s other great fast-track challenge is to imprint his identity on the squad. The classic ideas of Englishness will more than cover it. The former England lock wants a big, nasty pack in the traditional mould, a powerful scrum and a backline with incision and guile, but also one that wants to run over the top of teams.
Borthwick is calling; time for England to pick up.
