Spectacular score May leaps up to second in the try-scoring lists
JIt was absolutely brilliant. I haven’t seen him do that in training but he’s such a good try-scorer Eddie Jones
ONNY May moved clear into second place in England’s all-time try-scoring list with an acrobatic finish in the 41-18 win over Italy.
On the stroke of half-time, the Gloucester ace broke away and placed the ball down from a horizontal, mid-air position.
On the other wing, Anthony Watson struck twice in a six-try victory as the champions secured partial redemption for their dire Calcutta Cup defeat by Scotland a week ago.
“Jonny’s obviously been watching rugby league tapes - in NRL that’s a fairly traditional way to finish, a smart way to finish,” England head coach Eddie Jones said.
“It was absolutely brilliant. I haven’t seen him do that in training as such but he’s such a good tryscorer. He’s always looking to see how he can score a try.”
Watson 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 the triumph at Twickenham, 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 said on Twitter.
Watson, however, is content to appreciate the artistry that has propelled May clear in second place in England’s all-time try-scoring list with 32.
“It was freaky. You’ve got a split second to make a decision whether to dive flat or dive in the air,” the Bath and Lions flyer 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 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.”