May’s day as England romp
JONNY ON THE SPOT TO SCORE A HALF-HOUR HAT-TRICK AND SEND RIVALS AN OMINOUS WARNING
MAYDAY, mayday – would Wales please report to emergency stations. A venomous England will be coming to town a week on Saturday in the mood to storm the Principality Stadium if the first two rounds of the Six Nations are anything to go by.
After the bullying of Ireland came a destruction of France yesterday at Twickenham, with wing Jonny May crossing for a hat-trick in a hideously onesided contest.
May scored the first of his tries after 66 seconds and had three inside the opening halfhour as England recorded their biggest margin of victory over the French for 108 years.
It was less Le Crunch than Le Stroll In The Park as a disorganised France were picked to pieces. Wales will of course have markedly different ideas – the chariot has come horribly a cropper in Cardiff before – and they will certainly have a plan.
Unlike France, whose coach Jacques Brunel was whistled by the visiting fans. Their team have endured few darker afternoons in London.
The French are comfortably the most neurotic side in the world game.
In brief glimpses their rugby can be as elegant as a Degas ballerina, but most of the time it is an incomprehensible splodge of Tanguy surrealism. Hung upside down. With a moustache drawn on it.
The blend of power and intelligence was altogether too much as England’s kicking game pulled France apart.
Kicking can be a negative option but here – as at the Aviva Stadium – it was used as a potent weapon of attack for Eddie Jones’s side.
The tone was set in the opening exchanges when France full-back Yoann Huget took a high ball from Ben Youngs and was enveloped by two Vunipolas at once. Guilhem Guirado soon coughed up possession and Elliot Daly counter-attacked from his own half, chipping through for May to burn off the cover and send Twickenham into raptures.
Jones had predicted an early try for Chris Ashton. He must have got his wings muddled.
May then soft-shoe-shuffled his way over for his second in the 24th minute, standing up Damian Penaud in the corner after Owen Farrell had switched the direction of attack when Billy Vunipola was held short.
And May’s hat-trick came five minutes later as Morgan Parra spilled another high ball from Henry Slade and Ashton exploited a deserted backfield with a kick for the Leicester wing to score.
Penaud replied for France after Huget’s break, but England had the bonus point wrapped up a minute before the interval as Slade, clearly sick of seeing May score, ignored him outside and stepped over for the fourth try.
Huget, the second makeshift full-back after Robbie Henshaw to be tormented by England in successive weeks, was replaced at half-time but the carnage at the back continued.
England were soon awarded a penalty try by referee Nigel Owens after Ashton was tackled without the ball by Gael Fickou five metres from the line as he chased down another kick by Slade. Fickou was dispatched to the sin-bin
for his troubles and, with France short-handed, Farrell followed up his own kick to score England’s sixth after replacement scrum-half Antoine Dupont had knocked the ball over his own line.
The try stemmed from a quick tap by Youngs in his own half that showed England’s desire to play at pace. The menace was ever-present too – even Mathieu Bastareaud was sent flying backwards by one thumping hit from Courtney Lawes.
Flanker Tom Curry was outstanding either side of a sewing break to stitch up a deep cut sustained in a clash of heads with Penaud. It is easy at times to forget he is only 20.
The advertising hoardings also required some running repairs after a brawl triggered by Kyle Sinckler pulling the scrum cap of Arthur Iturria. Sinckler was taken off moments later and Dan Cole was brought back into international rugby after 11 months away.
Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson, an unused substitute last week, was also introduced in the last 10 minutes for his debut. If Farrell, who finished with 17 points, had chosen to kick an easy penalty in the closing stages England would have secured their record win against the French. No matter.
The only down side for Jones’s side was the loss of Mako Vunipola, who limped off four minutes after half-time with an injury to his left ankle – the same one that caused him to miss the autumn Tests.