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The Lion Elliot Daly admits he loves 'playing with' as England woes downplayed
By PA
Elliot Daly admits England’s revamped backline must hit the ground running against Italy in Rome on Saturday.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has responded to the conclusive losses against Scotland and Ireland that brought an end to England’s Guinness Six Nations title hopes by making an unprecedented 12 changes, three of them positional.
The radical selection fired a warning shot to the squad that recent performances have fallen below the required standard.
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The overhaul includes a whole new backline with Daly making his first appearance of the Championship and the veteran full-back insists they must seize their opportunity.
“The way Steve has set this team up, you can be called in at any moment and you need to perform,” the British and Irish Lion said.
“We understood we would get our shot at some point. It has come this weekend and we’re looking forward to it. We have got a squad of 36 people and we all need to be ready to go when needed.
“We’ve only lost two games. It’s not the end of the world, but they were games we wanted to win.
“We know we didn’t perform in those two games and we know we need to learn lessons for a tough game on Saturday, which is what it’s going to be in Rome.”
None of the units in the backline have played together in a Test before, but fly-half Fin Smith and inside centre Seb Atkinson came through the Worcester academy at the same time and made appearances for the first team in the 2021-22 season.
It is Smith’s first start since the autumn while Atkinson will be looking to build on the promise shown against Argentina last summer when he makes his Six Nations debut.
“Fin’s been in and out a little bit but he’s a quality player. I love playing with Fin,” Daly said.
“I haven’t played with Seb before but he brings physicality. He brings a lot of enthusiasm, he wants to get his hands on the ball and put people into space, which is exactly what we need.
“And he is also pretty fit, so he runs around and always seems to be there. That’s kind of what you need from your 12.”
England have won all 32 previous encounters with Italy but Saturday’s Stadio Olimpico showdown is shaping up to be their most challenging yet with the Azzurri transformed from the team that went on a 36-match losing run in the Six Nations that only ended in 2022.
