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'If you start thinking not getting injured, not doing that, then that is when you tend to get injured'
Elliot Daly is in an exclusive club of two as the countdown continues towards England’s eagerly awaited Rugby World Cup campaign.
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Normally, it doesn’t take a player too long to hit the ground running at a new club from one season to the next. There’s usually just the four-week break in between teams and off you go again.
World Cup year is different, however, and the gap is enormous due to time away on international duty.
The curtain fell on Daly’s final season at Wasps in mid-May and if England go all the way at the finals in Japan, it will be mid-November before the full-back-cum-winger properly starts getting his feet under the table at Saracens, the club that also has fringe England hooker Jack Singleton joining from Worcester.
Daly’s new surroundings at Allianz Park won’t be completely alien to him. He managed to squeeze a visit in earlier this summer to try and get his bearings. But that memory will be fleeting by the time he is actually in a position to go to work on a daily basis post-World Cup with the Londoners.
🌇 RISING SONS: Episode 4
The journey to Japan continues as Eddie puts the squad through their paces at a training camp in Treviso 👊 #WearTheRose 🌹 @O2Sports pic.twitter.com/EM4dE99LKE
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 30, 2019
“I went into Sarries for a day just to train on my own when we had some stuff to do, but it was just good to see the environment and speak to some of the boys,” explained the 26-year-old about a switch that ended his nine-season spell at Wasps.
“I have spoken to a few of the lads here (in England camp) but I probably spoke to them before more about it. Now it’s just having a few chats but thinking mostly about the World Cup.
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“Hopefully things go well here and I end up going to Japan, but it’s always in the back of your mind. I’m really forward to getting down there… it is right for me to have a new challenge and I’m looking forward to that.”
🦁🌹⚫🔴#WhatADaly pic.twitter.com/KZR9ltCwAz
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) February 5, 2019
Daly had still to make his England debut when the last World Cup took place. However, he is arriving into this edition with spruced-up credentials after laying claim to the No15 shirt this past year having previously come of age on the wing when forcing his way into the 2017 Lions Test series team in New Zealand.
England may be only a week away from playing their first warm-up match for the finals, but the general approach in training so far this summer is flexibility, leaving Daly unsure yet where he might fit in for RWC.
“I haven’t got much (of a feeling) at the moment. Eddie likes people to chop and change during training and I really like that as well.
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“You need to know if you’re playing full-back what the wingers are doing and if you’re playing centre what the full-back and wings are doing.
“It’s just fluid at the moment. Training has been really competitive and we have been in and out of stuff. We haven’t really gone to positions, it has just been going out and play.”
There will be no holding back when the friendlies start. The temptation surely exists for injury-conscious players to not go full metal jacket in the series of matches that commence with next Sunday’s Twickenham clash versus Wales, but Daly isn’t one for the softly-softly approach.
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“Everyone at the moment is actually really looking forward to these games to show what we can do and try and get that team cohesion we have been looking at in the last sort of three, four weeks of training together.
“If you start thinking not getting injured, not doing that, then that is when you tend to get injured, stuff doesn’t seem to go as you would wish. But the way we are looking at these games is to really improve before the World Cup and put our best foot forward.
“It [facing rivals Wales] will definitely have the same effect. Every time we play Wales it is a brilliant atmosphere, always a great crowd vibe, and it’s always a great game. I have played Wales in end-of-season games, sort of June time before, so yeah, I don’t think it will be different to when we are playing them in Six Nations.
At a loose end next Tuesday? 🤔
Get yourself down to the England Rugby Store at @Twickenhamstad for your chance to meet three players from Eddie Jones' #RWC2019 training squad 🌹
Here's what you need to know: https://t.co/S4CV2odvqE pic.twitter.com/ftfmpyibud
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) August 2, 2019
“It’s a Test match at the end of the day so the intensity will be brought. Definitely, it will be similar to a Six Nations game. It’s an international game.
“You can’t be talking about not going for those games, especially as there is only four games before the World Cup starts. We will be hopefully bringing intensity in those games and seeing where we get to.
“You play whatever team is in front of you. Attack-wise and defence, particularly defence you can only defend what is being thrown at you, so it’s just putting your principles in place.
“Attack-wise you want to put your stamp on the game whether it’s you want to run this move or that, so it’s all in your control. We want to put in the systems we have been practising over the last couple of months.”
WATCH: Part one of Operation Jaypan, the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what the fans can expect to experience at the World Cup in Japan
Comments on RugbyPass
Billy's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to comments