Watson hails brilliance of May despite doubts cast over try
ANTHONY WATSON has acclaimed Jonny May’s “freaky” finishing skills, but retired referee Nigel Owens insists his acrobatic try in England’s victory over Italy should have been disallowed.
Watson plundered two classy touch downs as the champions relaunched their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a 41-18 triumph at Twickenham on Saturday, but the moment of genius came from May on the other wing.
Racing for the line, May leapt almost four feet into the air to evade a despairing late cover tackle from Luca Sperandio, and on his downwards fall he reached out to score from a horizontal, mid-air position.
According to Test centurion referee Owens, it was illegal because the Gloucester wing went airborne to avoid Sperandio, rather than using it as a means to reach the whitewash.
“Diving for the line to score a try is allowed. Jumping in the air to avoid a tackle is not. May jumps up to avoid tackle first which is not diving for the line,” Owens wrote on Twitter.
Watson, however, was content to appreciate the artistry that has propelled May clear in second place in England’s all-time try-scoring list with 32 tries.
“It was freaky. You’ve got a split second to make a decision whether to dive flat or dive in the air,” the Bath wing said, “and then you need to get the ball down before your legs touch the ground.
“For him to have done that in a split second, deciding what to do and pull it off, is crazy.
“It was a like an NRL-style finish and fair play to him. You can practise it in training – you get the crash mats out and someone on the tackle bag will try to bang you out into touch – but that came to Jonny instinctively and that’s when he’s at his best.”
With Plymouth-born Exeter Chiefs back Henry Slade playing his part, England were able to reflect on a sixtry win that repaired some of the damage caused by the dire mauling from Scotland a week earlier.
It was patchy at times and the execution often failed to match the intent as the final-quarter romp traditional against Italy never materialised, but it was a step forward for a team that since the autumn has been shackled by kick-first conservatism.
Slade’s Exeter club-mate Jonny Hill scored England’s first try, while the Chiefs’ Luke Cowan-Dickie was also in the hosts’ starting XV.
Head coach Eddie Jones voiced his concern for Jack Willis after the England flanker suffered a sickening knee injury on Saturday.
Willis was driven from the field on a medical cart in the 66th minute after Sebastian Negri rolled him out of a ruck, forcing a cry of pain from the Wasps back row as his leg twisted awkwardly.
It was a cruel blow to Willis, who shortly beforehand had scored his second international try, but is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
“We’re all concerned. He’s on crutches. It didn’t look good and probably isn’t good,” Jones added. “We’ll just wait and see.”
Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations title aspirations were prematurely ended as France underlined their status as tournament favourites by grinding out a 15-13 win in Dublin yesterday, as the Irish suffered successive losses at the start of a Six Nations campaign for the first time.