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'Welsh teams are just twice as tough when they’re playing the English'
By Josh Raisey
Former England wing Jonny May has said he would rather Wales had won against Scotland last weekend in round one of the Guinness Six Nations, rather than his former side facing a side team "fuelled by an emotional reaction" this Saturday at Twickenham.
Warren Gatland's team narrowly lost 27-26 to Scotland at the Principality Stadium in their first match of the Championship, coming close to overturning a 27-0 deficit in the second half.
The loss, May wrote in his Six Nations Rugby column, will only add to "the eternal motivation any Wales team has when they're facing England." Combined with the fact that "Welsh teams are just twice as tough when they’re playing the English," according to May, it promises for a close encounter in round two.
"Although only one team is heading to Twickenham with a win this weekend, Wales will have similar levels of motivation," the 78-cap England winger wrote.
"They’re sat on a loss and, truthfully, I’d rather they were coming here off the back of a win.
"That sums up why it’s so hard to be a top team that wins week in, week out: coming up against a team that’s fuelled by an emotional reaction to a loss the week before is hard. It still surprises me how significant a factor that is.
"You see it in the Gallagher Premiership all the time. Teams will come out full throttle when their backs are against the wall. And all this is added to the eternal motivation any Wales team has when they’re facing England."
May did also highlight that England will have motivation of their own following their 27-24 win over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico.
While Steve Borthwick's side did register a victory - their first in the opening round of the Six Nations since 2019 - it was not a wholly impressive performance, where their new defensive system was picked apart in the first half for two fine Italy tries.
The frustration from that performance will provide England with motivation this week, who will field an unchanged starting XV in London against a Wales XV that has seen seven changes from the Scotland loss.
"It can be hard being an England player sometimes because - quite rightly - there is so much expectation on you to perform well," May wrote.
"If they didn’t beat Italy by 40 points then it wasn’t going to be good enough. In a way, it will be beneficial for England to sit with that frustration for a week. They’ll be pleased to have won, but they won’t be buzzing. That’ll help us getting back to Twickenham this weekend against Wales. You use that frustration to get better.
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Latest Comments
Hopefully Joe stays where he is. That would mean Les, McKellar, larkham and Cron should as well. It’s the stability we need in the state programs. But, if Joe goes, RA with its current financial situation will be forced into promoting from within. And this will likely destabilise other areas.
To better understand some of the entrenched bitterness of those outside of NZ and NSW (as an example 😂), Nic, there is probably a comparison to the old hard heads of welsh rugby who are still stuck in the 1970s. Before the days where clubs merged, professionalism started, and the many sharp knives were put into the backs of those who loved the game more than everyone else. I’m sure you know a few... But given your comparison of rugby in both wales and Australia, there are a few north of the tweed that will never trust a kiwi or NSWelshman because of historical events and issues over the history of the game. It is what it is. For some, time does not heal all wounds. And it is still festering away in some people. Happy holidays to you. All the best in 2025.
Go to commentsNot surprised to see Barretts rating. He has always been a solid defender for the ABs but not particularly effective in attack situations.
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