Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall backs Elliot Daly to reclaim a spot in the England squad after his superb performance in his side’s 51-18 demolition of Leicester Tigers.
Daly was omitted from the tour of Australia, and England’s training squad announced last week but showed his worth in the solid win against the defending champions.
Pushing for England selection
McCall believes Daly’s versatility gives the star a good chance of being considered by Eddie Jones for England’s World Cup squad in 2023.
“Elliot had a great game, he was outstanding on the ball. He was involved in everything that we did well from an attacking point of view,” McCall said.
“He’s lost his international place for the first time in a long time. He’s always been part of the squad.
“Not going on tour and not being selected in the 45-man squad isn’t easy for someone like him who has always been there.
“You saw his response and reaction against Leicester and he hasn’t given up hope of going to the World Cup.
“His ability to play 15, 13 and 11 probably gives him a very good chance of going if he continues to play like that.”
McCall was delighted with his team’s performance, particularly with how they improved their discipline in the second stanza.
“We played well and looked dangerous with the ball, we asked them some questions,” McCall said.
“We actually gave away a lot of penalties in the first-half and sometimes that can be game losing.
“We don’t want to give that many penalties away but our reaction is what pleased me most – we rolled our sleeves up.
“We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves at all and almost took it on as a new challenge – bring it on kind of thing.”
Standard bearers
Leicester Tigers coach Steve Borthwick credited Saracens for their brilliant performance and believes their “power and pace” was crucial to the result.
“Saracens are the standard bearers and they have been for quite some period of time,” Borthwick said.
“They have got superstars throughout their squad and superstars who aren’t able to make the 23. They are a very difficult opposition to play against.
“They are a team packed full of power and pace. There is a lot less power in the English game, it is very expensive and tends to go elsewhere, but Saracens have got power and pace.”
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