Daley-McLean backs Harrison
KATY Daley-McLean is backing Zoe Harrison over Holly Aitchison in John Mitchell’s fly-half conundrum due to the Saracens 10’s formidable goal kicking, which she feels will give England an edge during tight knockout matches in next year’s World Cup.
Former fly-half Daley-McLean won 116 England caps from 2007-20, scoring 542 points. She knows what it takes to guide her country to World Cup glory, given her phenomenal performance as captain in the 2014 final – the last time the Red Roses reached the summit of international rugby.
Aitchison started two of the three WXV outings during England’s successful title defence – finished off with a 21-12 victory against Canada last Sunday – with Mitchell preferring the Bristol 10’s expansive style of play.
But with pressure intensifying ahead of the home World Cup, Daley-McLean feels more comfortable with Harrison at the helm.
She told The Rugby Paper: “It’s great that we’re now having this debate. Previously it was Zoe’s shirt but Holly returned from sevens and found her feet. It depends on how England want to play. If you want a real running game, with a fly-half playing flat and attacking to the line, then you put Holly in there. If you want somebody who’s going to be more of a tactician, kicking corners, give you a bit more of a territory-based game, then I’d put Zoe in. They’re very different.
“I thought Zoe kicked extremely well against USA in WXV. Holly has massively improved on that part of her game but it still isn’t a massive strength of hers. In the World Cup, there’ll be tighter games and you’re not going to want to let it come down to a couple of points. Knowing that your fly-half can knock them over from the touchline consistently is something useful to have, especially if you’re not going to have Emily Scarratt in there. Helena Rowland and Meg Jones can kick but England need somebody to go and grab the goal kicking armband and say it’s mine.”
With Premiership Women’s Rugby having returned in A truncated season which concludes before the Six Nations in March, Daley-McLean struggles to look past back-to-back champions Gloucester–Hartpury, believing Sean Lynn’s side can secure an unprecedented three-peat.
Daley-McLean added: “You can’t bet against Gloucester with the squad that Sean Lynn has and the additions made. Then you’ve got Saracens and Bristol Bears, which would probably be my one, two, three.
“It’ll be interesting to see where Exeter and Quins pitch as well. This kind of season suits the teams who have got slightly bigger squads. Gloucester have always been head and shoulders above everybody else in terms of strength in depth. Considering the number of players they had away during the WXV, they still rolled out impressive teams in the opening weeks.”
The former Darlington Mowden Park, Loughborough and Sale star is excited by the new signings across the league and hopes the surge in crowds for the Red Roses will translate into the PWR.
“It’ll be interesting to see how Ellie Green goes from Trailfinders to Gloucester,” said Daley-McLean. “Gloucester have a very dominant pack once everybody’s back which she never had at Trailfinders. She’s always been on the radar but hasn’t made the step up to international level. As a fly-half, it’ll be interesting to see whether that change in forwards has an impact on her game.
“The next step is developing crowds in the domestic game and showcasing that people have an opportunity to get to know a lot of players that are going to feature in that World Cup in their backyard. You can go down and watch Maddy Feaunati at Exeter. You can meet Kate Zachary in London.
“There’s the option to come up to Sale and see Beatrice Rigoni. The opportunity to see these players now in their club colours before you see them represent their country is something that the league needs to trade on.”
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