Daly claims he has persuaded Scottish Lion Hogg to support England at the Euros
Elliot Daly claims he has persuaded Stuart Hogg to support England at the Euros but the Saracens back admits he still has a bit of work to do on Finn Russell.
The ongoing football tournament has provided a welcome distraction for the British and Irish Lions, who have been confined to their team hotel in Johannesburg due to Covid restrictions.
Daly, who will make his first start of the South Africa tour against the Sharks at Ellis Park tomorrow, hopes to be able to catch some of England’s semi-final against Denmark which is due to kick-off shortly after the rugby finishes. The Lions game will kick off an hour earlier than planned at 6pm to avoid a clash with the football.
The centre was impressed by Gareth Southgate’s side’s quarter-final win over Ukraine but his claim that the Lions players are all backing England has yet to be corroborated.
“We all sat down and watched the second half after the game on the weekend,” said Daly. “I think everyone was supporting England, to be fair – which was good. Some of the Scottish lads were sitting on the fence – Finn Russell was sitting on the fence – but I think we persuaded Hoggy to be an Englishman for a bit.
“Hopefully we get another win and have our first final for a while.”
Warren Gatland, the Lions coach, is hoping England’s success will rub off on the Lions and has sent good luck wishes to Southgate.
“It’s fantastic that they’ve got a semi-final, and from our point of view it will be great if they get to the final and win it,” said Gatland. “Just because it is a different sport doesn’t mean we don’t follow them and support them. So, to Gareth and the team, we just wish them all the best.”
Gatland thought Daly made an “outstanding” impact from the bench in the win over the Sigma Lions on Saturday and believes outside centre is the versatile England back’s most dangerous position.
“We know he can cover the wing and full-back, but as he gets a little bit older and gets more experienced I think that (centre) is definitely a position for him for the future,” said the Lions coach.