England ‘not a million miles away’ – Daly calls for perspective

Full-back Elliot Daly insists England are not far off the form that delivered 12 straight victories, despite the dismal defeats by Scotland and Ireland that have sunk their Six Nations campaign.

Daly is one of nine new faces in the England starting line-up to play Italy in Rome on Saturday as coach Steve Borthwick attempts to spark his side into life.

“It might look a million miles away on the TV, but actually you break it down and it’s a few errors, a few penalties here and there, and not converting our opportunities,” said Daly.

“We’ve been creating a lot of good chances. For some of them we have just been a little bit too flat and we’ve gone each other’s way, that type of thing.

“We’ve had a look at it – it’s not a massive thing. It’s one of those things that will fix itself and we’re looking to fix it.”

Daly points out that opposition teams will inevitably bring their back three up into the defensive line, rather than have them hang deeper to cover a kick, when pinned back deep into their own territory, making progress harder for the attack.

But he believes England need to keep their heads clear of ‘white-line fever’ and retain their composure when close to scoring.

“The way we have attacked to get in there – it is probably just having the same mindset when we do get in there,” he added.

“The last two weeks we haven’t converted those chances, but the positive thing is we are getting there, so we are not far off.

Daly helped revive England’s campaign in last year’s Six Nations. The 33-year-old was left out of the opening-round defeat by Ireland but came off the bench to score the winning try against France the following week, the first victory in England’s year-long streak.

His start to this season was delayed as he recovered from surgery for a broken arm sustained on the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, but he made his comeback in the autumn win over Argentina and his playmaking ability, left-footed kicking and experience are highly valued by Borthwick.

Daly’s 74 England caps are three more than the rest of this weekend’s starting backline have between them.

He believes that the perspective he has gained since making his England debut in February 2016 helps when pressure comes on the team.

“You probably don’t say it, but I think you’ve been in these situations where, I mean, we’ve only lost two games,” said Daly.

Meanwhile, former England wing Chris Ashton says that while England’s new-look backline may impress on paper or in training, the intensity of a Test match can pull apart the best-laid plans.

“I like the balance to the backline,” Ashton told Rugby Union Weekly.

“It is similar to what England had when they won the series in Argentina in the summer, with Seb Atkinson at inside centre and Tom Roebuck on the wing. Both of them did really well and they have a nice synergy together.

“Elliot Daly brings experience at the back, something that is probably lacking from the rest of the backline, and Cadan Murley, he has other aspects to his game, but he is just speed on the wing.

“They haven’t played together though and that is a concern against a strong, confident Italy. You can’t prepare them for that.