Jonny May soars for England but Willis injury mars victory over Italy
Jonny May accelerated clear as England’s second-highest try-scorer with a stunning finish as Italy fell to a 41-18 Guinness Six Nations defeat at Twickenham.
May plundered his 32nd international touch down on the stroke of half-time by leaping for the whitewash and grounding the ball from a mid-air horizontal position.
It was a remarkable moment of skill and ingenuity from one of the game’s most ruthless finishers, whose acrobatics swept him over a despairing tackle by Luca Sperandio and up one place in England’s all-time try-scoring charts.
Having moved above Ben Cohen and Will Greenwood into clear second, Rory Underwood’s total of 49 is the last remaining target.
Victory came at the cost of a sickening injury suffered by Jack Willis, whose left knee was damaged when he was cleared out at a ruck. Just moments earlier the replacement flanker had scored the fifth of England’s six tries.
England back to winning ways ? pic.twitter.com/JFaWh8eqbb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 13, 2021
A week after Scotland had claimed their first win at Twickenham since 1983, the most experienced England team of all time began the process of rebuilding their title defence with a predictably comprehensive triumph against the Six Nations’ weakest opposition.
Anthony Watson ran in two tries while Jonny Hill and Elliot Daly also crossed, but at times their play was scrappy and unconvincing, partly the result of Italy’s stubborn resistance and occasional flourishes in attack.
The Azzurri’s moments of promise were insufficient to prevent a 29th successive loss in the Six Nations, although on this occasion they were competitive if comprehensive losers.
Memories of the Calcutta Cup debacle came rushing back as England conceded two early penalties before leaking a try after only 144 seconds as Monty Ioane capitalised on some sluggish defending to race in.
They had been caught cold by Italy’s tempo with Watson and Daly at fault, but Owen Farrell settled nerves with a penalty as the setback made way for a spell of red rose dominance.
A short-range free-kick saw the ball retained in the pack and eventually the Azzurri cracked before the succession of pick and goes with Hill touching down.
The Super Bowl was last weekend, @J0nnyMay ?
Enjoy, @EnglandRugby fans.#GuinnessSixNations #ENGvITA pic.twitter.com/WeyR3poPQe
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 13, 2021
Fly-half Paolo Garbisi was off the mark with a penalty that levelled the score and while they were still in the fight, territory and possession were slipping away at an alarming rate.
England’s back three were dwarfing their contribution against Scotland, with Watson the most effective carrier, and the Bath wing’s side-step and injection of pace swept him over in the 26th minute.
But for greater accuracy, Italy would have been in as they poured forward from a line-out as they impressively fought their way back into contention.
England ended the half strongly, however, and were rewarded when Sperandio went walkabout in defence and May crossed with a spectacular try that saw him leap into the corner.
EXCLUSIVE: Things are about to go from bad to worse for England's top clubs as they brace for a HUGE RFU funding cut.
– @chrisjonespress ??? with the scoop https://t.co/1zkaHrXoV7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 13, 2021
Garbisi opened the second half with a penalty as Italy, helped by some mistakes from the home side, played with pace and intent exemplified by two eye-catching breaks.
It was therefore a blow when their best spell was ended by an ill-advised Garbisi pass that was cleverly picked off by Watson, who galloped 80 metres to score his second try.
Again Italy were stubbornly holding their own only to fall to England’s smarter thinking, caught unawares during a period of niggle and when camped on their line, Willis drove over.
Willis’ celebrations at scoring his second try were cruelly muted shortly afterwards when his leg twisted during a clear-out, causing an awful injury to his left knee that saw him driven from the pitch on the medical cart.
After a lengthy delay to treat Willis, England were caught cold as Tommaso Allan raced in from a scrum but Daly replied quickly thanks to a turnover by Maro Itoje, completing the rout.
A call that has left many – England fans included – irate. https://t.co/p9eLY2ISbZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 13, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
1 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
4 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
4 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to comments