Daly and May set to wing it for England

LONDON: Elliot Daly and Jonny May are both set for a quicker than expected return to Test duty after the wings were named Tuesday in a 26-man squad for England’s November international opener against Argentina this weekend.

England coach Eddie Jones will cut that squad to a matchday 23 on Thursday, some 48 hours before his side face the Pumas at Twickenham.

Daly damaged knee ligaments while on European Champions Cup duty with Wasps last month, an injury that was thought would see him miss both the Argentina match and the second of England’s three November Tests, against Australia on November 18.

May meanwhile suffered a minor hamstring problem during England’s training camp in Portugal last week but he too could be involved against Argentina. Wasps captain and England lock Joe Launchbury said club colleague Daly’s fondness for dozing off may have aided his recovery. “I think he is a quick healer. He sleeps a lot. He seems to sleep most hours of the day-maybe that has helped him!” Launchbury said.

Jones’s initial 26-man squad selection suggests that come Saturday he could have Anthony Watson on one wing, and Daly on the other, with Mike Brown completing the back three in his usual fullback position and May providing cover on the bench.

If any of the wings suffer fresh fitness problems, Bath’s Semesa Rokoduguni is also available. All the British and Irish Lions included in Jones’s original training squad have been retained for the Argentina match.

The Australian coach had indicated that those players who helped the combined side to a 1-1 series draw against world champions New Zealand might be rested at some stage this November.

But he’s unlikely to leave out key men for England’s showpiece clash with the Wallabies, with the November finale against Samoa shaping up as the match where Jones may give some senior players a breather. With Jones needing to drop three players to make a 23, one from May or Rokoduguni appears in line to make way with Alex Lozowski and Henry Slade vying for the role of backup playmaker. In the pack, it looks as if Tom Curry and Sam Underhill are in direct competition for the openside flanker berth. — AFP