RED ROSE NOW IN FULL BLOOM
May fills his boots with hat-trick as brilliant kicking display from England demolishes the French
EDDIE JONES strove in vain to talk up Wales last night, in a futile attempt to prevent his side being placed on a pedestal and burdened by expectation. Nice try, but too late.
England are top of the Guinness Six Nations table with a perfect ten as they contemplate a likely decider against Wales at the Principality Stadium a week on Saturday.
They are title favourites — whether they like it or not. Another bonus-point win was the inevitable outcome once Jonny May had snatched a half-hour hat-trick to settle this non-contest before half-time.
England picked up where they left off in the victory over reigning champions Ireland, but this was very different to Dublin, where they had to subdue high-class opponents. At Twickenham yesterday, a famous sporting rivalry was reduced to a painful procession. It was not so much
Le Crunch as Le Crash; with France’s campaign hitting the wall. The visitors were abject.
Owen Farrell, the home captain, scored 17 points and set the tone for the shrewd, low-altitude barrage. He was aided and abetted by the other footballers in the England back line — Ben Youngs, Henry Slade and Elliot Daly. Chris Ashton joined in, too.
Utilising this supply line, Jonny May filled his boots. His first try came with barely a minute on the clock and maintained England’s handy knack of delivering fast starts this season. It was the fifth Test in a row when Jones’ men have claimed a touch-down in the opening three minutes.
This time, the scorer wasn’t finished, in that he kept finishing. In the 24th minute, May took a long pass from Farrell on the left and stood up Damian Penaud to score on the outside. It was the act of a man in supreme form and five minutes later, he had his treble, as he chased through in pursuit of Ashton’s low kick and slid over. Remarkably, at that stage, May had three tries from just four touches of the ball. But this was no solo show. In the first half, the whole orchestra performed in harmony. Slade was superb again — with another well-taken try and another layer of authority added to his midfield status. Just as he had done in Dublin, the Exeter centre handled the physicality of the occasion while also managing to showcase his creative class.
England’s flankers, Mark Wilson and Tom Curry, reprised their heroics from the previous match. They were tenacious and dynamic and relentless. Curry was bloodied from a clash of heads but he kept coming back for more.
And Wilson has transformed himself from a fringe figure into a mainstay of the back row. Brad Shields and Chris Robshaw will struggle to usurp him at blindside any time soon.
One notable aspect of this match was further proof that Youngs and Daly have been revitalised by their time in camp with England.
Both men came into this tournament on the back of unconvincing club form, but they are now firmly in the groove, with confidence surging. Yet, while the collective performance against Ireland had come close to perfection, this time there was a drop-off.
England were so settled in the driving seat by the halfway point that they flicked on the cruise control and very nearly nodded off at the wheel.
Slade had struck from a pass by Kyle Sinckler before the break, to secure the bonus point, and the event lost all tension, which in turn led to a decline in English intensity and focus. The home side lost shape and composure early in the second half.
They were awarded a debatable penalty try in the 50th minute, when Gael Fickou was ruled to have tackled Ashton off the ball, after Slade had intercepted a pass by Camille Lopez and kicked ahead. Five minutes later, Youngs took a quick tap penalty, Farrell dispatched a long punt forward and when Antoine Dupont knocked the ball over his own line, the England skipper pounced.
That was the end of the scoring, with 25 minutes to go. France thrashed around, seeking a response and a shred of pride amid the rubble, but they couldn’t add to the first-half try by Penaud. Frankly, they came across as if they hadn’t been coached. Jacques Brunel is supposed to be in charge, but he is surely a lame duck. A clueless one.
At this rate, he might not keep his job until the World Cup. Pressure is mounting. France are poorly selected. They are not fit enough, not organised enough and not smart enough. At times, they barely appear to be even loosely acquainted with each other. It is staggering and it is sad.
French flair has been consigned to nostalgia. There were no magicians in blue at Twickenham yesterday. England were the ones pulling rabbits out of hats.
If this was an accurate guide to the World Cup pool-stage encounter between these teams, in Yokohama on October 12, England will surely go through to the knock-out rounds, while France could find themselves knocked out.
In the meantime, England are rolling on in the direction of a title and perhaps even a Grand Slam, while France are plunging towards oblivion.