England get the ’ump over video nasties
‘ANGRY’ LEACH DENIED TWICE BY REF ERRORS
OPENERS QUACKED England enjoy the wicket of Gill who fell early to Stone lbw
England know they have already got a huge fight on their hands in the Second Test even without the first day turning into a VaRce.
A bone-dry, exploding surface in Chennai, tailormade for India’s three spinners, meant that winning the toss and watching Rohit Sharma race to 161 was the perfect comeback for the home side after their First Test defeat.
But two bizarre umpiring moments from the third official Anil Chaudhary left Joe Root (right) and England scratching their heads in frustration as two wickets they should have had went begging.
Both would have belonged to Jack Leach, who was trying to take full advantage of a pitch that was turning square and bouncing irregularly on the first morning.
Firstly Rohit should have been given out stumped thanks to the lightning-quick work of Ben Foakes – only for Chaudhary to make his ‘not out’ call almost as quickly, with the help of just one camera view that suggested nothing was behind the line.
And then just three overs later, there was a far more dubious decision taken to ignore part of the review asked for by England over a catch off
Ajinkya Rahane’s glove.
Somehow Leach managed to remain sanguine, when Root and head coach Chris Silverwood’s faces told a different, far more angry story.
“It is a bit like VAR isn’t it?” said Leach. “Still controversial even though you’ve got the video technology there.
“Hopefully it is swings and roundabouts and we get a bit of luck along the way. There’s nothing I can do. At the time I was a little bit angry, but getting a wicket the next over makes it a bit easier, it’s not cost us too much.”
England have to find a way to put it behind them and scrap for every inch on this tricky surface. Despite the pitch, Rohit made batting look easy on the way to his 161, putting on 85 with Cheteshwar Pujara and 162 with Rahane.
But with Virat Kohli he added just one, as the skipper fell for a duck to a spinner for the first time in a Test match. Moeen Ali put one through the gate and clipped the bails.
Kohli still stood firm for a time as if in the manner of WG Grace, who once put the bails back on and said, “They have come to watch me bat and not you bowl”.
The same was surely true of the 9,000 fans here, but Kohli had to go.
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 bonus-point 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?
Spectators behind closed doors against Scotland a week ago, the pair helped themselves to three tries between them as England put the nightmare of the Calcutta Cup behind them.
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 high-class 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
FIVE STARS Jack Willis goes over for England’s fifth try was May’s 32nd try for England taking him into second place on his own on the all-time list behind Rory Underwood.
With Italy pressing gamely after the break, Watson picked off a 50th-minute interception try to run in from 70 metres and give England their bonus point.
They finished with six tries to Italy’s two and a comfortable win although one with sufficient holes in it to leave Eddie Jones requiring another upgrade before the visit to Wales in a fortnight.
Jones said: “I was really pleased with the attitude and the energy.
“With the execution we still have a bit to do but that’s OK. Now we get ready for Wales.”
He has some selection issues to sort for Cardiff.
Elliot Daly scored England’s final try but otherwise endured a wholly forgettable afternoon.
But there is no chance of Jones dropping his captain, even though Owen Farrell is another Saracen out of form.
His two handling errors within the space of a minute in the second half summed up his struggles.
Substitute flanker Jack Willis scored but was almost immediately carried off the pitch on a stretcher after sustaining a knee injury as the only downside for the hosts.
Jones admitted: “We’re all concerned. It didn’t look good, it probably isn’t good.”
It has to be taken into account that this was only Italy, the tournament whipping boys whose kicks to the corner routinely only reach the 22, but it was a performance with the intent to raise the spirits rather than empty the soul and for that we should be grateful. ENGLAND: Tries: Hill, Watson (2), May, Willis, Daly. Cons: Farrell (4). Pens: Farrell.
ITALY: Tries: Ioane, Allan.
Cons: Allan. Pens: Garbisi (2)