England ace accuses South Africa of ‘disrespect’ following Rugby World Cup clash
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England winger Jonny May accused South Africa of lacking respect after the Northern Hemisphere team were dumped out of the Rugby World Cup by the Springboks on Saturday night. Steve Borthwick’s men produced their finest performance of the tournament as they led the semi-final showdown for 75 minutes. But they were ultimately defeated 16-15 following a second half comeback from the three-time champions.
England had come up short against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final four years ago as they were comprehensively dispatched 32-12. And following that tournament, South Africa’s triumph was detailed in a documentary called Chasing the Sun, which included behind-the-scenes footage from the Springboks camp. But May was unhappy at some of the behaviour he witnessed on camera.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t think necessarily that the South Africans respect us. Some of the things their coaches openly said about us in their documentaries probably just adds fuel to the fire,” May told Sky Sports.
“For me personally, I try my best every game, regardless of whether a team and coaches respect what you do. I think we’re getting better, so that’s all we can do, which is work hard and improve.
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“It was a tighter game than it was four years ago. This team beat us comfortably in the autumn, and that felt like a game that maybe got away from us. On another day we genuinely could have won. I’m not that kind of guy to get riled up more for a derby game or a team that beat us here and there, but certainly some boys probably did.
May was then asked whether South Africa would have gained more respect for the England players following their latest battle on the world’s biggest platform. And the Gloucester star replied: “I don’t know, I don’t really care. I have respect for those guys and what they do, and credit to them, we wish them all the very best, but it’s none of my business what other people think about me.”
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England were in top form at the Stade de France as two Owen Farrell penalties in the early stages eased any pre-match nerves. South Africa hit back through a Manie Libbok penalty, before the fly-half was unceremoniously hooked for Handre Pollard with 10 minutes of the first half remaining.
Farrell had already added a third kick by the time Pollard came onto the pitch, with the Springboks replacement getting off the mark five minutes before the interval. And England were in dreamland when Farrell notched his fourth penalty of the night to give his team a 12-6 advantage at the midway point.
Farrell sent over a drop-goal 13 minutes into the second period as England looked to cling on to an unlikely win against a team that had gone into the match as overwhelming favourites. But the Southern Hemisphere team began their comeback when RG Snyman crossed the whitewash with 11 minutes remaining. Pollard converted to put South Africa within two points of England, with the fly-half then stepping up to win his team the match courtesy of a long-range penalty two minutes before the end.
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