JILTED JON
Shock as Joseph is left out for first time under Jones & Wasps’ Daly handed start
JONATHAN JOSEPH will be missing for the first time when Eddie Jones names his England starting line-up to face South Africa today.
The head coach has sprung a surprise by opting to instead give a first start to Wasps centre Elliot Daly, whose five caps have all come off the bench.
Daly, 24, insists he is up to the challenge of such a big role in Jones’ all-conquering team.
“I feel like I’m ready,” he said. “The games I’ve played in have been really big ones, in the Six Nations and the Australia series. I’m better for that experience.”
Daly’s selection, outside Owen Farrell and George Ford, means Jones has gone for a midfield combination last seen in the 2011 Junior World Cup.
The trio wore those same numbers in Padua, where England reached the final before losing to New Zealand. Until now, Joseph had started every match under Jones (below), with the Red Rose winning the lot.
His omission means England take on the Springboks without six of their frontline players. Also missing are Maro Itoje, George Kruis, James Haskell, Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson.
But they are injured, whereas Joseph’s absence appears to be a straight selection call, given assistant coach Neal Hatley’s insistence yesterday that: “Everyone is fit, everyone is raring to go.”
Daly’s selection last night won powerful support from Brian O’Driscoll, arguably the greatest outside-centre of his generation.
“I really admire the way Elliot plays,” he said. “There’s nothing quite like the afterburners that he’s clearly got.
“Nothing matches raw pace, especially if you’re getting frontfoot ball as a 13 and getting to run on to it because you’ve got excellent passers inside you like Owen Farrell or George Ford.
“He’s got a lovely left boot and you imagine that with the level of possession England’s pack will provide, he’ll be in a good place.”
Daly insists England are ready for opponents battle-hardened, if diminished, by a long and largely unsuccessful campaign.
“I don’t feel we have rust to shake off,” he said. “That’s what the Portugal training camp was for – getting the boys together and getting the physical edge back. “We want to be the No.1 team in the world. To do that you’ve got to win your games and this is our first one. It’s massive for us. England haven’t beaten South Africa since 2006.”