JONNY’S FLYING HIGH
But England have barely got off the ground and still the questions remain over style of play under Jones
England 41 Italy 18
DO not be fooled by the spectacular i mages of Jonny May leaping almost four feet in the air like an acrobat from the Cirque du Soleil. His try was one of the most remarkable acts of contortion that Twickenham has ever seen, but it was a split-second of brilliance in a belowpar 80 minutes..
England showed endeavour but l acked execution. There were flashes of magic from May and Anthony Watson out wide but they were muddied by dropped balls, Owen Farrell’s backchat and a horrible injury to young Jack Willis.
This was Italy’s biggest points haul against England since 2008. Eddie Jones’s side were challenged to make a statement following their Calcutta Cup humiliation but fell well short of the 50-point winning margin critics had called for.
Perform like this against any other Six Nations sides and England could well have been on the wrong side of another defeat.
At least there were signs that England are ready to move away from their robotic, low-risk kicking game. Green shoots on the pitch where England were buried by Scotland last week.
George Ford attempted to move the ball wide but England looked like a team who had forgotten the basics of catch and pass at times.
Early on, Elliot Daly threw an attacking pass straight into touch. It was the first error, but not the last and few could question Jones’s selection i f he promotes Max Malins to the No 15 jersey against Wales in two weeks.
Yesterday, the first few minutes played out like an extension of England’s Calcutta Cup nightmare. With 50 seconds on the clock, Courtney Lawes was penalised for a deliberate knock-on in the tackle.
Full of endeavour, Italy turned down three points and kicked for the corner. David Sisi provided quick ball off the top of the lineout and, playing with a penalty advantage, Montanna Ioane punished poor defensive positioning to score down the left wing. So much for England’s fast start. Italy, however, lack the ability to twist the knife. They have lost 29 consecutive games i n the Six Nations and, after Farrell kicked his first penalty, Paolo Garbisi gifted back possession by kicking the restart straight into touch. France, New Zealand and South Africa are not nearly so generous.
When England did kick the ball, they did so with intent. They kicked to score, rather than kick to force mistakes. Henry Slade sent a deft grubber kick down the left wing for May to chase and Jonny Hill piled over to give England the lead a few phases later.
The likes of Hill, Kyle Sinckler and Tom Curry showed deft hands as England attacked with tight, powerful carries. But their attacks too often fizzled out with a dropped ball or a turnover. Ben Youngs and Billy Vunipola were among the culprits.
Against Scotland, Watson did not touch the ball for 50 minutes. Yesterday, he was back to his Lions form of 2017. He took on defenders — usually coming out on top — and goose-stepped past Stephen Varney for his first try after 26 minutes.
May, however, wanted his own slice of the action, as England’s wingers stole the show. Just before half time, May launched himself over Luca Sperandio like a human cannonball to finish a spectacular solo try.
England lacked the killer instinct, however, and Italy struck back in the second half. Ioane collected a crossfield kick unchallenged before leaving Daly for dust. A 60-metre gain gave Garbisi a free hit to add three more points.
The frustration on English faces was clear to see. Farrell argued with the referee like a punter turned away from a nightclub for wearing the wrong shoes.
Flustered, he dropped a couple of balls and breathed a sigh of relief when the TMO dismissed his potential high tackle in the build up to Watson’s second try through a longrange interception.
Jones sent on his fresh-faced reinforcements. For the final 20 minutes, 12 of his players were aged under 26. Dan Robson looked sharp, beating two defenders with a quick tap penalty to set up Willis’s try.
However, Willis’s joy soon turned into agony. Competing for the ball at the breakdown, the flanker was rolled out of the ruck and his knee buckled. The shrieks of pain echoed through the empty stadium and he was driven off on a buggy.
His team- mates looked shellshocked and, when play resumed, they conceded a first-phase try as Tommaso Allan ran a powerful line off the back of a scrum.
Daly added a touch of gloss to his performance with a late try, but the home side should certainly have scored more. For all of May’s efforts to launch himself into the Twickenham skies like an unidentifiable flying object, England are still waiting for lift-off.