Twickenham has not been kind to Jonny May on his most recent visits but there is nowhere the Gloucester wing would rather be on Saturday when South Africa open the autumn international series there. Defeats by Wales and Australia last year led to England being dumped out of their own World Cup and, when he returned to the ground at the end of 2015 with his club to take on Harlequins, he suffered knee ligament damage that kept him out of action for 10 months.
The 26-year old was named in the England squad a few weeks after making his comeback and spent last week with the squad in Portugal. The 19-cap old boy found himself a new boy, introduced to the ways of Eddie Jones, who replaced Stuart Lancaster as head coach not long before the wing was injured.
“It is different,” said May. “The way Eddie coaches is awesome and after just a day’s training it was pretty clear to me what he wanted to get out of it. There is purpose behind everything, pace and a real intent; it brings the best out of you. I’m not saying it wasn’t like that when Stuart was there but this group of players has come a long way. Eddie’s been a huge part of that.
“The World Cup was tough but the same group, fundamentally, has bounced back and I just want to do Eddie and my team-mates proud if I am given the chance.”
May has taken the long road back, travelling to the United States during his rehabilitation where he spent time at the performance centre of the former sprinter Michael Johnson in Houston. He admits to having an obsessive, compulsive personality and drew himself into the recovery process by brushing his teeth standing on one leg and hopping up the stairs.
“It was a tough time but I don’t want to talk about just how tough it was. It is done now and I’ve made a good recovery. I’ve still got to look after myself. I have some decent scars from the surgery: I did my anterior cruciate ligament against Harlequins but some other ligaments were not right so I had them fixed and my ACL reconstructed. It was a fair bit of work but the surgeons say everything has gone well and, as the knee gets better every week, so I trust it a bit more.”
May, who was named in a 45-man England squad last August before his comeback date had been fixed, is set to start against the Springboks because Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell are both injured. Jones kept in touch with May during his recovery and talked last week about the potential impact of a wing with so much pace, mindful of the try he scored to stun New Zealand in 2014.
“Eddie took the time to speak to me and send texts during my rehab and I am very grateful to him,” said May. “To be so far away from playing but in his thoughts was huge for me and gave me something to focus on. I play rugby to play for England and I wanted to get back into the side. His staying in contact gave me great motivation, although it did surprise me because I was not going to be playing for a while.”
England have not beaten South Africa since 2006. May was in school then and Bryan Habana is the only player on either side that November day in Twickenham, when England were on a long run of defeats rather than victories, who will, if selected, be involved on Saturday. The veteran Springbok scored the first of his 66 international tries at Twickenham in 2004.
“He is a role model to me,” said May. “Playing for England again would be a huge opportunity: if it happens you just focus on yourself and what you can do for the team. No one in our group has beaten South Africa and it is 10 years since we did so as a side. They have had a disappointing time this year and lost a few games they won’t be happy about, so there is a lot on the line for both teams.
“You think of them as the most physical side in world rugby. They have a pack in which everyone can carry the ball and they have smart, fast backs.
“They are stereotyped for their physicality but they are a world-class team who put opponents under pressure. They know that beating us would turn things around for them and we have spoken about ending our run of defeats against them.”
Jones is likely to turn to the West Country for both his wings with Bath’s Semesa Rokoduguni in prime form, as he showed last weekend by scoring the match-winning try against Exeter. “I roomed with him in Portugal and he had some funny stories,” said May. “He is on fire, definitely the in-form winger. Going away as a group gives you an opportunity to come together and bond. You build relationships, get closer and there are no distractions.
“It was my first time in the camp but I’ve got some good friends in the squad and, when I was injured, I checked out what it was like. They all said it was a good environment, one where players could improve and have confidence. It is all positive.”
