The surprise player who was one of the first phone calls Steve Borthwick made after being named England head coach

England head coach Steve Borthwick has revealed that Elliot Daly was one of the first players he rang after being appointed, such is his admiration of the versatile back.

Daly has been named on the left wing for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture with Wales, as England look to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat.

This will be the first time the Saracens back pulls on an England jersey since the 2022 Six Nations after being snubbed by former coach Eddie Jones thereafter.

Excited to see Daly in action

But it is clear that new boss Borthwick is a fan of the versatile player, revealing he was one of the first phone calls he made out of the playing group when he got the job.

“Elliot was one of the first players I rang when I was appointed. He hadn’t been in the environment, hadn’t played an awful lot in recent times,” he explained.

“He has been looking really good in training, he has multiple dimensions to his game and I’m looking forward to seeing that on Saturday.”

Another player who Borthwick is excited about watching take to the field this weekend will line up on the other wing, as Henry Arundell gets a chance to impress.

The youngster has been told to “trust his instincts” against Wales at Twickenham, as Borthwick hopes he becomes a star performer at this year’s Rugby World Cup.

One way he can do just that, according to Borthwick, is to not overthink his game as he hopes Arundell can replicate his superb club form when at London Irish.

“Henry is in great physical shape and he’s got such incredible natural talents that you want to ensure are always going to be there. We want him to trust his instincts,” Borthwick said.

“We want to give him the ball and I’m sure the opposition will know that and try to shut down the space, which may open up opportunities elsewhere.

“We’re aware of that but everyone is looking forward to seeing him. He’s a young man with a big future in front of him.

“When you look around world rugby right now you see teams who have players that can break the game up in different ways.

“One of those ways is pace and Henry has pace. If we can get him the ball in space, and he in particular doesn’t need a huge amount of space, then he can make things happen.

“We’ve already seen him do that in an England shirt and we’re looking forward to seeing him do it more.”

Ben Earl starts at openside

England have made 11 changes to their side from the one that lost out in Cardiff, with Ben Earl another player to come into the XV in a strong looking back-row.

Earl is finally handed his first Test start for his country after his previous 15 appearances have all come from the bench, with Borthwick a fan of his talents.

“What Ben Earl has, which I don’t see too many opensides possess, is the ability to link with the backs in attacking play and to keep the ball moving. That’s a rare talent,” he said.

“He has the pace to operate with the quickest guys. He is up there with the quickest guys in our squad. He is not quite Henry Arundell but not too many people are.”

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