Elliot Daly calls for perspective on England’s Six Nations slump

Full-back elliot daly says England are not far off the form that delivered 12 straight victories after dismal defeats by Scotland and Ireland have derailed their Six Nations campaign, and he urged calm ahead of the Italy game in Rome on Saturday. Daly is one of nine new faces in the England starting line-up as coach Steve Borthwick attempts to spark the side back to life. He blamed a few errors, a few penalties and failures to convert opportunities as the core issues and said the problems are fixable.

Elliot Daly: Where the margins have shifted

elliot daly pointed out that England have made the second-most entries into the opposition 22m in the tournament, yet only Saturday’s opponents Italy have a poorer average points return from those visits. “It might look a million miles away on the TV, but actually you break it down and it’s a few errors, a few penalties here and there, and not converting our opportunities, ” he said. “We’ve been creating a lot of good chances. For some of them we have just been a little bit too flat and we’ve gone each other’s way, that type of thing. ” Elliot Daly, full-back for England, offered that assessment in front of the Italy match.

elliot daly stressed that opposition teams will bring their back three up into the defensive line when pinned back deep, rather than hang deeper to cover a kick, and that makes progress harder for the attack. As a versatile player who has been deployed in midfield, on the wing and at full-back, elliot daly said perspective gained over years of international rugby helps when pressure comes on. His experience matters: he helped revive England’s campaign in last year’s tournament by coming off the bench to score a decisive try, and his 74 England caps are three more than the rest of this weekend’s starting backline have between them.

Daly’s start to this season was delayed by surgery to repair a broken arm sustained on the British and Irish Lions tour, but he returned in the autumn win over Argentina and has been valued for his playmaking ability and left-footed kicking by the coaching group.

What England must fix next

elliot daly warned against ‘white-line fever’ and urged composure when the team get close to scoring, saying the way they have attacked to get there should be matched by the same mindset when inside the 22. “The last two weeks we haven’t converted those chances, but the positive thing is we are getting there, so we are not far off, ” he said. “If we convert a couple of them, we are going to be in these games. “

Coach Steve Borthwick has made sweeping changes with nine new faces in the starting XV, and elliot daly is part of that reshuffle intended to reignite attacking cohesion. The emphasis from players and staff is that small errors and missed kicks, not wholesale structural failure, are behind the slump.

elliot daly noted the side are creating chances even if finishing has been poor, and he said the group have reviewed the issues and expect them to fix themselves with focus on execution rather than panic. Selection choices and clearer finishing will be watched closely as England look to restore composure and turn territorial entries into points in Rome.

Selection, small corrections and calm will determine whether the next match halts the slide; elliot daly believes converting a couple of chances will change the narrative and that perspective will be key as England aim to arrest their Six Nations decline.