Hat-trick for May as England crush France

WING Jonny May scored a hat-trick in the first 30 minutes as a scintillating England ripped through a sorry France for a 44-8 victory at Twickenham yesterday to put them top of the Six Nations table after two rounds.

After claiming an unexpected bonus-point victory over Ireland last week, the extra point was in the bag by halftime as Eddie Jones’ team exposed France’s ragged defence again and again with a relentless deluge of kicks of every description.

The irrepressible May bagged the first three and Henry Slade the fourth, with Damian Penaud’s sole response leaving England a remarkable 30-8 ahead at the break.

A penalty try and a try for Owen Farrell chasing his own kick put the game to bed early in the second half as France did not look remotely like mounting any sort of comeback.

England top the standings with 10 points, with Wales – who they face next in Cardiff – on eight. |