1 hour ago
6
When England’s players boarded a bus to celebrate at Embargo nightclub on the Kings Road last Saturday, Elliot Daly was at the heart of the action.
The team celebrated their victory over the All Blacks at the same bar where Mick Jagger threw his 80th birthday party, with the drinks flowing until the early hours.
Daly was not a part of the team that beat New Zealand but he is never far from Steve Borthwick’s plans. In fact, were it not for injury, the 33-year-old may well have started every game this autumn.
He is the Swiss Army knife of England’s backline, ready to drop in at any position from 11 to 15. In the era of positional flexibility, his versatility can make him one of the squad's most valuable assets going into the 2027 World Cup.
When Fraser Dingwall was ruled out this week, England’s selectors discussed Daly as an option to start in the centres. He could also have covered full-back if Freddie Steward had not recovered from his head injury but they settled on playing him on the wing.
‘Fundamentally, Elliot can deliver a range of skills that not many players can do,’ says Daly’s former Saracens team-mate Alex Goode. ‘He has the ability to play-make, pass well, kick well, work hard, defend well, read the game well. A lot of wingers currently are brilliant athletes who are great in the air but Elliot has an all-court game that very few have.
Elliot Daly will play for the first time since breaking his arm on British & Irish Lions duty in June when he starts on the wing for England against Argentina on Sunday
'Fundamentally, Elliot can deliver a range of skills that not many players can do,’ says Daly’s former Saracens team-mate Alex Goode
‘He can implement different strategies. If you want a kick-chase game like you saw from England in the World Cup, he can chase all day and get up for the ball. If you want to play a kicking game, his left foot comes into play. If you want to play an attacking game, you can use him out the back of plays to link, which not many wingers are particularly good at.
‘When you’ve got an aggressive defence, he’s comfortable with that. Having played a lot at centre, he’s good at reading the game and he doesn’t mind making hits. He can come up and in to shut plays off. Lastly, his back-field coverage is very good from playing full-back.
‘Coaches trust him beyond belief. He’s not as devastating a runner as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, he’s not as quick as Henry Arundell, he’s maybe not as good in the air as Tommy Freeman but he does so many things. He has a skillset which is rare and unique and that’s why he’s been on so many Lions tours. If you want to push the 6-2 bench then there’s no one better.’
On the 2021 Lions tour of South Africa, Daly was involved in every one of Warren Gatland’s matchday squads. No other player featured more, Daly becoming the butt of a tour joke that he did not have enough space in his suitcase for all of his swapped jerseys.
If he had not broken his arm during this year’s tour of Australia, he would have been on track for selection in the Test squad. He has not played a minute since that injury in July but Borthwick did not hesitate about putting him straight back into the starting team.
‘Some players like to play a couple of games and build into things but he can go from zero to 100,’ says Daly’s former Saracens coach Kevin Sorrell. ‘It’s an amazing attribute to have.’
At training last week, Daly came close to breaking his personal best for his top speed. Wingers do not need to go through the same level of collision conditioning before their comeback so he has slotted straight back in.
‘Maybe he has been a bit of a victim of his versatility over time,’ adds Sorrell. 'You often have a perception of players before you’ve worked with them. I remember when he first joined Saracens, he played on the wing and I thought, “Wow, I think we’ve found his position”. The next week he played full-back, then the following week he played centre. He could do them all. He’s so versatile.
'Some players like to play a couple of games and build into things but he can go from zero to 100,’ says Daly’s former Saracens coach Kevin Sorrell. ‘It’s an amazing attribute to have’
Daly scores against France for England at Twickenham during this year's Six Nations despite the efforts of Antoine Dupont
Daly was going well for the Lions and would have been involved in the Test matches before injury struck when he broke his arm
‘In one match, our hooker went off with a yellow card. Elliot just went and grabbed the ball and threw it perfectly into the lineout. It was just, “No bother, get on with it”. He could pick up a cricket bat and be brilliant at it, pick up a tennis racket and be brilliant with it. If push came to shove, he could play almost every position in the backline.
‘He understands the game so well. Some players slow down just before they go into contact. Elliot accelerates into the tackle. He gives you nothing for free. It’s the same with his counter-rucking, he’s very destructive in the outside channels.
‘With his brain, he’s able to see things and communicate. It might sound obvious but It’s not that common across a backline. You might get three or four in your backline doing it, but not everyone. When you’re attacking, you’re always looking for your space but it’s how quickly you can identify it and whether you can put yourself in a position to exploit it. The best players are always playing one step ahead.’
The All Blacks coaches speak about the irreplicable Will Jordan in a similar vein. Ultimately, Daly’s place in Borthwick’s squad becomes a balancing act. When everyone is fit – which is a rarity these days – he is likely to be battling with Marcus Smith for a place on the bench. Either way, he will never be far from the plan.
