Jonny May’s poor performance against Italy could prove costly…
England coach Stuart Lancaster has hinted at replacing Jonny May with Exeter Chiefs star Jack Nowell at left-wing for next week’s Six Nations clash against Ireland.
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May showed his defensive frailties against Italy and is a good chance to be replaced by Nowell for the potential Six Nations decider.
Lancaster did not skirt around May’s average performance, saying he made a point about May’s missed overlap during the post-match debrief.
“I made a point about it, saying we have to take those opportunities, there’s no doubt about it,” Lancaster is quoted as saying by The Times.
“We’ve got to take those opportunities. We need to score those.
“It was simple execution. You’ve got a decision to make. You run at the last defender and he either commits to you and you pass the ball, or he doesn’t so you run over the line and score.”
To make matters worse for May, Lancaster gave high praise to Nowell.
“He is one of Exeter’s most potent attacking weapons.
“He has got the tendinitis in his knee sorted and that has helped his power and pace. He’s got more now than he had last year.
“He is just a very good footballer. He is very good under the high ball, finds his way to get in the game, beats players one-on-one, and thinking back to the Ireland game last year, the kicking game of Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton was excellent and he dealt very well with the things thrown at him. He has just got a very good temperament.”
Nowell starred in Exeter’s 46-17 win over the Newcastle Falcons over the weekend is is now an odds-on chance to start in England’s clash with Ireland on Sunday.
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