England has continued their red hot form, punishing the French 44-8 on Sunday at Twickenham. Despite it being a cold and damp affair, a crowd of 82 000 strong witnessed a compelling English performance, punctuated by a hat-trick from Jonny May. England’s emphatic victory comes off the back of their surprise win over favourites, Ireland in the previous week. Clearly, England are a force to contend with in this year’s Six Nations.
The French managed only one try (from Damian Penaud) in what was a depressing showing for Les Blues. It took England a mere 70 seconds to leave the French trailing on the scoreboard, before scoring a further five tries. Even without Maro Itoje, the English were still strong around the ruck contest.
May’s form continues
Jonny May’s amazing run of form has continued, as he put on three tries in a mere 29 minutes. May now has 12 tries from the same amount of tests. England’s kicking was efficient and unrelenting, both from Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell.
What happened to France?
The French showed very little from their previous week’s performance against the Welsh. Despite leading 16-0 at halftime, the French let Wales back into the game, before losing in the dying stages 24-19. Despite the six changes, it appears the French have taken a step backwards. It is clear they are struggling with putting consistent performances on the park, particularly in terms of defence.
Where to now for England?
The English side will now face Wales in two weeks in Cardiff, a match that is already shaping up to be a blockbuster. Wales have put together two scratchy wins against Italy and France, arguably the two weakest teams in the competition. However, they have won two from two and are the only undefeated team in the competition, apart from England.
England sit two points ahead of Wales because of crucial bonus points from their previous matches. While Eddie Jones will likely be keeping the team focused on the current Six Nations tournament, there’s no doubt he’ll have one eye towards the World Cup in Japan this year. England are peaking at the right time and if this run of form continues, they could be a real threat this year.