It May have been illegal but Watson hails Jonny
ANTHONY WATSON has acclaimed Jonny May’s ‘freaky’ finishing skills, even if retired referee Nigel Owens insists his acrobatic try in England’s victory over Italy should have been disallowed.
Watson plundered two classy tries as the champions relaunched their Six Nations title defence with a 41-18 win at Twickenham, but the moment of genius came from May on the other wing.
Racing for the line, May leapt to evade a despairing late cover tackle from Luca Sperandio and avoid going into touch before he reached out to ground the ball from a horizontal, mid-air position.
According to Owens, it was illegal because May went airborne to avoid Sperandio rather than using it as a means to reach the line. Watson, however, is content to appreciate the artistry that has propelled May clear in second place in England’s all-time tryscoring list with 32.
‘It was freaky. You’ve got a split second to make a decision whether to dive flat or dive in the air,’ the Bath flyer said.
‘And then you need to get the ball down before your legs touch the ground. For him to have done that in a split second, deciding what to do and pull it off, is crazy.
‘It was a like an NRL-style finish and fair play to him. You can practise it in training – you get the crash mats out and someone on the tackle bag will try to bang you into touch – but that came to Jonny instinctively and that’s when he’s at his best.’
Whatever the legalities of another entry for May’s extraordinary highlights reel, England were able to reflect on a six-try win that repaired some of the damage caused by the dire mauling from Scotland.
Speaking about their recovery, fly-half George Ford said: ‘We had a good chat in the week about the excitement of getting the ball in your hands, having a bit of life about us and taking people on.
‘Our outside backs are the best in the world at what they do if they get the space and they should be getting the ball numerous times in a game. They were brilliant finishes from Anthony and Jonny, and we need to get the ball into their hands.’