At this rate Jonny May might have to consider changing his surname. Nowadays it is less a case of “may” than “will” when the Leicester wing hurtles towards a try-line, to the point where Wales will have to make special plans for England’s prolific flyer in Cardiff this weekend. Give him half a yard and he will – not may – take full advantage.
Twelve tries in his last dozen Tests, including a hat-trick inside the opening 29 minutes against France last time out, is a world-class strike rate by anyone’s standards. The last time he faced Wales he scored twice at Twickenham, the only tries of a low-scoring game. His tally of 22 tries in 42 Tests has elevated him to seventh on the list of England’s all-time try scorers, with the power to edge past, among others, Jason Robinson’s 28 in 51 Tests by the end of the year.
Not that “edge past” is May’s modus operandi. The 28-year-old is flying, to the point where France seemed petrified any time the ball came within 10 metres of him. “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” he says, when asked if his form is having a psychological effect on opponents. Never mind English rugby, there is no more improved player in the world over the past 12 months.
Even May himself is delighted by the eye-catching progress he is making. While his scorching effort against New Zealand at Twickenham in 2014 is still among his favourite tries, he now has many more strings to his bow. “I am a different player to what I was,” he acknowledges, quick to stress his good fortune to be on the end of an increasingly dangerous attacking backline. “I have scored a lot in my last 12 Tests, more than in my first 30. Is that luck? Maybe it is, but I know my game is better and tries come with that.”
It has also done him no harm that the game is tilting towards greyhounds like him who are alert, keen and quick enough to chase down well-executed attacking kicks. “That’s the way the game’s gone at the moment,” he says, nodding. “People want 14 men in the frontline with aggressive defences and players getting off the line. Where does that leave the space? A lot of the time it’s behind them. Will the game change? In 10 years’ time maybe it’ll go back to putting wings back and softer defences. But the way we want to be thinking is: ‘We’re not robots, where is the space?’ There’s always going to be some somewhere.”
His burgeoning confidence is a far cry from his early England days when he was mostly happy just to be there. “I wasn’t doubting myself but I knew in the back of my head that I was running out of chances. I knew there was pressure on me. I could do it at Gloucester but hadn’t quite done it here.” He has worked hard to turn himself into a player capable of more than just the odd champagne moment. “What’s been a little bit funny to me is everyone saying ‘wow’ now whereas I feel it hasn’t happened overnight. I feel like I’ve been working hard over a long period of time.”
The next goal is to be mentioned in the same breath as New Zealand’s Ben Smith – “He’s the smartest rugby player” – and to distance himself from scurrilous rumours that he was once, ahem, possessed by a chicken. “It’s a bit silly isn’t it? I don’t think at any stage that has happened,” says May, blushing ever so slightly.
This week, instead, he is focused on scoring for the fifth consecutive Six Nations game, further buoyed by a pep talk from the former England and Chelsea captain John Terry, who attended training in Bagshot on Tuesday. “He spoke a lot about the leadership group he had at Chelsea. A core group of players setting the standard and how José Mourinho came in and changed the way they train. It was quite reassuring because we could relate to a lot of things he was saying.” Not so reassuring for Wales as they prepare to meet English rugby’s answer to Didier Drogba.