Eddie’s given me the confidence to be an England top gun
ELLIOT Daly has thanked Eddie Jones for giving him the confidence to believe he has the weapons to be a real England top gun.
Having failed to persuade Stuart Lancaster that he was a potential international match winner, Daly is loving life under Aussie Jones.
His crucial late try that broke Welsh hearts stamped him as an important member of England’s record-chasing side.
His impressive progress since Jones grabbed the reins has helped heal the pain of being one of the first cut from the 2015 World Cup training squad.
And Daly, 24, hopes to give Scotland plenty of grief in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham.
Daly, who has three tries from 11 caps, bounced back from the three-week ban picked up for his dismissal for dangerous play against Argentina in November to start the last three games.
He said: “It was a little bit frustrating having to wait so long to prove what I can do with England. And it was devastating to miss out on a home World Cup.
“But that’s gone now. At the time it was frustrating but I also wanted to do well for Wasps, and we were doing fine so that did help.
“I probably had stuff to work on when I wasn’t getting in the team. I’ve gone away and done that, and Eddie has given me confidence to play my way.
“He says to all the backs ‘play what you see’ and play to your strengths. He’s given me confidence to do that.
“Ever since I came into the squad the boys have been really easy to get along with. With your first cap and stuff like that ... in this squad everyone are good mates off the field.
“You feel part of it but obviously you want to play well when you get the opportunity to wear the shirt. You just want to do it for the team and push the team forward.
“I don’t think I have a favourite position. I just enjoy playing so I don’t mind. I’ll play anywhere and I just want to be in and around the squad for the next two games and see where that takes me.”
Daly admits that while England are unbeaten in this Six Nations they have been nowhere near their very best. They have also failed to lead at half-time in any of the clashes with France, Wales and Italy.
He said: “We need to start against Scotland a lot better than we have so far. They’re a very good team and will believe they can beat us.
“They’re playing really well with Stuart Hogg in good form and Finn Russell pulling the strings. I’m looking forward to a real battle with them.
“Our first 20 minutes have been a bit slow, and teams have put us under pressure. It’s definitely something we need to work on.
“We had a pretty tough first training session following the Italy game, but we are used to that now. We want to improve and a tough session is how you do that. It’s about getting fitter and putting your skills under pressure.
“The way we are playing shows we are a very fit team. We are playing the full 80, and right to the last minute.”