DANNY Cipriani insists he would not be surprised to see Wasps’ Elliot Daly bag himself a spot in England’s World Cup squad.
Daly shone this season as Wasps bagged themselves a spot in next season’s European Rugby Champions Cup, a prolonged spell in the No,23 shirt seeing him cross for five Premiership tries.
That led to Daly being nominated for the Land Rover Discovery of the Season award, having also appeared at both full-back and fly-half too in the past.
And while he might have lost that battle to Exeter Chiefs’ Henry Slade, England fly-half Cipriani believes the 22-year-old could still win the war when it comes to World Cup selection.
“I didn’t hear his name banded about too much earlier in the season because we weren’t playing Wasps early on but as the game gets closer and you start to analyse the opposition and you see how they are doing,” said Cipriani.
“Some of the runs, the skills and the people he was beating this year were unbelievable and as the season went on you saw how well he was doing.
“Elliot Daly’s name was mentioned every other week about doing something outstanding so I think he wants to add that consistency that he was to the training camp and put his hand up.
“There’s a spot there. There are obviously going to be people who have got their names under the jersey but when it comes down to it if you have an outstanding camp, you’re going to get picked.
“The coaches are very open with that and they do pick on form and how people train.”
As World Cup hosts, the onus will be on England to get their hands back on the Webb Ellis trophy for the first time since 2003.
But win or lose, Cipriani is adamant there is an equally as big a matter at stake later this year – with Daly set to play his part.
“For the World Cup to be in England I don’t think it could be more special. You see what it did for the London Olympics and the buzz around the sports and everyone started taking part,” he added.
“Hopefully it can do the same for rugby and make it that number two sport in this country.
“You can see from attendances in the Premiership this year and the way fans have gone about it that the game’s profile is growing and it is the perfect opportunity to have it in England and show what we are about.”
Emirates ‘Find the Flag’ competition is encouraging young fans to celebrate rugby coming to their home city. By locating the hidden flag and sharing a selfie, fans will have the opportunity to win the chance to be an official Flag Bearer at Rugby World Cup 2015. Visit Emirates social channels to follow the flag.
