British and Irish Lions vs All Blacks: Elliot Daly ready to step up if he's required to take last-minute long-range penalty

The England back has made kicking penalties from his own half his own, and he revealed on Friday why he has the confidence to do that if the opportunity arises in the third Test

Elliot Daly has the confidence to step up if the Lions need him to kick at goal in the final minute of the third Test (Getty)

Elliot Daly has sent a message to Warren Gatland that if the British and Irish Lions need a 79th-minute long-range penalty kicked to beat the All Blacks on Saturday, he’s ready and waiting to step up and win the series for the British and Irish Lions.

Daly will cap a remarkable rise this season when he starts his third consecutive Test for the Lions this weekend in what could prove a historic moment for British and Irish rugby. Just three points separated the two sides last weekend as the Lions edged the second Test, and despite a 15-point gap in the opening encounter, the Lions spurned two clear chances to score that would have made the clash much closer than it was on the scoreboard.

The same could well happen on Saturday. With the two sides so evenly matched and the series locked at 1-1, the opportunity may arise for big-hitter Daly to have an effort at goal to win the series if it proves too far for first-choice kicker Owen Farrell.

“I would love that opportunity. It would be amazing,” Daly said on Friday. “I have not visualised it but will dream about it now that you have said it. If that comes my way I will be more than happy to give it a go and back myself in that situation.”

The Wasps back has landed a number of long-range kicks for his club, and has even contributed across the 13 caps he has won for England, having successfully two penalties from his own half while on international duty.

For a player who is known for his versatility, his accurate hands and ability to glide across the pitch as speed, why has he kept up his kicking practice for so long?

“Yeah, it’s been one of those things I’ve kind of [done],” he explained. “I’ve never been first-choice kicker but I’ve always wanted to be a first-choice kicker so I’ve always been practicing my whole life really. It’s just one of those things that, if given the opportunity I want to try and take it if I can.”

The plan for Warren Gatland’s side though is to not be within reach of the All Blacks come the end of the game, but to ensure that their attacking superiority, based on the first two tests, gives them a big enough buffer to win a first series against the All Blacks since 1971.

That’s why Daly had an ominous warning for the reigning world champions, that despite the Lions hitting their stripes last weekend to level the series, they are still far from their best performance.

Daly believes the Lions have a lot more to improve on than the All Blacks (Getty)

“I think we have a lot to improve on,” he said. “We probably haven’t put a full performance together – that’s what’s really exciting about this weekend. Our defence was very, very good last weekend, to limit them to no tries, but probably our discipline wasn’t good enough so we’ll probably have to look at that this weekend.

“I can only talk about us really, and think that we’ve got a lot more to come, if we can piece those pieces together this Saturday and put in a full all-round performance.”