Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ENGLAND MAY BE TOO GOOD!
England 41 Italy
18
JONNY MAY believes England can retain the Six Nations Championship after his spring-heeled finish helped put the champions’ chariot back on course yesterday.
The Gloucester wing’s flying touchdown in first half injury time was the highlight of a bonuspoint win over Italy at Twickenham.
And after winning the title despite a first round defeat last season, May is convinced England can do it again.
“We are still in it,” insisted May. “As poor as we were last week we only lost by five points against Scotland.
“We got a point last week and we got five this week.
“There is no reason we can’t go one week at a time and keep getting better and come good at the end.
“Rugby union smashes you doesn’t it? We weren’t expecting that display against Scotland - it was a poor performance.
“But we were a tight team this week, we had some good conversations and we got back out there and got back on the horse.
“We played with some energy, chests out and heads held high.”
As this win proved, it turns out England wings Anthony Watson and May are pretty dangerous with the ball in their hands. Who would have thought it?
England were not always accurate but at least they played with ambition and a desire to use the talents at their disposal.
Watson and May were the beneficiaries and the stars of the show.
Both produced highclass first half finishes to set England on their way after Jonny Hill’s touchdown.
Watson flatfooted two Italian defenders, cutting in from the right to score in the 26th minute.
Then in added time May produced a jack rabbit leap to hurdle the tackle of Luca Sperandio and dot down spectacularly one-handed after flying through the corner flag. It was May’s 32nd try for England.
LARNE finally earned their first home win of 2021 with a comprehensive dismissal of Dungannon Swifts last night.
A huge collective effort went into clearing the Inver Park pitch of snow to allow the game to go ahead and Tiernan Lynch’s men looked determined to match that level of exertion from the get-go.
It took just eight minutes for them to open the scoring, Mark Randall conjuring up a goal that showed just what a fine technician he is. Having made a crafty run into the box, the gifted midfielder controlled a Tomas Cosgrove throw-in on his chest before sweeping the sweetest of angled volleys across Swifts keeper Roy Carroll and into the visitors’ net.
Soon after, Johnny McMurray, Marty Donnelly and Cosgrove all tried their luck with pot shots from outside the box as Larne sought to turn the screw but Dungannon just about held firm.
Randall almost bagged his second in the 25th minute when picked out by a fine diagonal pass from Fuad Sule. The former Arse
SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE Larne celebrate an own goal in their favour
nal man’s first touch was perfect and he slammed a left foot shot at goal from 16 yards but 43-year-old Carroll showed his reflexes haven’t deserted him by pulling off a wonderfully instinctive save.
The ex-Man United keeper was then beaten in the 4st minute when Donnelly clipped a delicious cross in from the left and Johnny McMurray sent a looping header towards goal but the ball bounced back off the crossbar, meaning Larne had to settle for the slenderest of half-time leads.
Seven minutes after the break, their deserved second goal arrived, albeit in fortunate circumstances. The outstanding Randall curled a dangerous free-kick into the box
from the left wing and Swifts skipper Dougie Wilson deflected the ball into his own net while under pressure from McMurray and Albert Watson. Donnelly’s 50 th goal for the Inver Reds made the points safe. Carroll would have been fearing the worst when the veteran winger lined up a free-kick from the edge of the box, and Donnelly’s sweetly hit effort duly found the postage stamp after clipping the top of the Swifts’ wall.
Sub Conor McKendry tried to pile the pain on the visitors in the 89th minute when he surged down the left but his drilled effort was pawed past the near post by Carroll as Larne closed to within two points of league leaders Linfield.
A RYAN JACK strike moved Rangers another inexorable step towards the Scottish Premiership title with a narrow 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox.
The midfielder fired in a terrific volley from 25 yards in the 38th minute of lacklustre first half at Ibrox.
The Light Blues created more chances soon after the break but could not stretch their lead and thus could not relax against a sturdy Killie side until the final whistle.
Nevertheless, after dropping two points at Hamilton last week, Steven Gerrard’s (right) side, without suspended strikers Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, got back to winning ways to move 21 points ahead of second-placed Celtic.
Celtic do have two games in hand, with the reigning champions playing at St Johnstone on Sunday.
Tommy Wright was taking charge of the struggling Ayrshire side for the second time and it was club’s seventh defeat in a row but he will be pleased with aspects of the game.
Gerrard shuffled the pack again and brought back Leon Balogun, Jack and Steven Davis with fit-again Jermain Defoe and Scott
Arfield back on the bench.
Rangers dominated the ball but struggled to create opportunities.
Killie, whose new signing, former
Rangers striker Kyle
Lafferty, was not in the squad but who had Youssouf Mulumbu and Aaron Tshibola back in midfield, defended tenaciously.
Gers skipper James Tavernier did have the ball in the net in the 18th minute after taking a Cedric Itten pass but the offside flag had already gone up.
Rangers kept probing and pressing with some patience but Killie’s rearguard held firm.
In the 27th minute, after
Kilmarnock defender Clevid Dikomana tripped Itten 25 yards out, Ianis Hagi came close with a decent free-kick.
It was another set-piece which brought the goal after Tshibola conceded a freekick 40 yards from goal.
The Killie defence failed to deal with Tavernier’s delivery into the box and when Tshibola hooked the ball clear it went only as far as Jack who returned it with a powerful volley high past Killie keeper Colin Doyle for his second goal of the season.
The home side might have doubled that lead moments later when Ryan Kent broke but his left-footed drive was tipped over by Doyle for a corner that came to nothing.
Seconds later, Rangers claimed for a penalty when Tavernier went down in the box under pressure from Rory
McKenzie but referee Don Robertson played on.
Doyle saved an angled drive from Kent within seconds of the restart and minutes later the Killie keeper made a fine save from a similar effort, pushing the drive round the post for a corner, again defended by the visitors.
Rangers were breaking with much more purpose and only a fine block by Aaron McGowan prevented Joe Aribo testing Doyle with a powerful drive, while Itten’s shot on the turn went straight to the Rugby Park number one.
Rangers should have clinched the points in the 85th minute following a swift counter attack as Kent left Aribo with only Doyle to beat, but he failed to evade the keeper who got a touch, again the corner proving fruitless.
Then a Killie claim for a penalty – when Balogun tangled with Killie substitute Danny Whitehall – ignored and Rangers saw out the four minutes of added time.
FORMER Ireland international Jon Walters has applied to be the new chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.
The position will become vacant this summer when Gordon Taylor steps down after 40 years at the head of the players’ union.
Walters, 37, looks set to go head-for-head for the role with ex-Port Vale defender Ben Purkiss – the current PFA chairman.
It was Purkiss who in November 2018 called for an independent review of the PFA’s governance. Following its publication, Taylor announced in March last year that he would be stepping down as chief executive.
Now Walters has joined the race for the top job and has drawn up a 10-point plan for an union often plagued by internal wrangling and disagreement
“I’m very passionate about the PFA,” Walters said. “I feel I am the right man for the PFA because players can relate to me.
“I’ve played in every league.
“I’ve captained clubs, I’ve captained my country, I’ve been involved on the management committee of the PFA. I like leading.”