No wonder his team-mates smile when Jonny May’s name is mentioned. The long-limbed wing fell asleep on the England team bus on the way to Twickenham for the New Zealand game. Playing on his iPod, as he dozed, was the soundtrack from Disney’s Frozen, a bit of Taylor Swift and some Ed Sheeran, perhaps the least likely motivational medley of pre-match tunes in the history of rugby.
It just goes to show inspiration has a range of sources, because once May awoke it was the All Blacks who were instantly caught napping. There seemed barely any danger when the 24-year-old received the ball inside his own half with Saturday’s game three minutes old and the experienced centre Conrad Smith in front of him. The next thing Smith knew there was no one there, a blur of white having screeched past him. Israel Dagg, the last defender, foolishly opted to show the skinny roadrunner the outside, only to be left sprawling as well.
Go Jonny go! The white flash could not recall any of his dreams on the bus; they could not have matched the scintillating reality anyway.
A week on, May’s overriding emotion continues to be a sense of relief. In his seven previous Tests he been unable to cross once, not even from a metre or two out. The closest he had come was against Ireland last season when the ball was dislodged from his grasp with the try-line begging. Happily it did not cost England victory, but the nagging disappointment stuck with him.
“It was a bit of a demon,” he says. “As a winger, especially, there’s pressure on you to score a try.” It showed in his eyes as he sprinted for the line, prompting more squad merriment this week when Michael Johnson, the former US Olympic gold medallist, visited the camp, saw the replay and advised May to “relax your face” in future.
One thing is certain: of all the Jonnys to have represented England, the Gloucester flyer is far and away the least predictable. His birthday falls on April Fools’ Day and rather than a whippet – too obvious – he has a rottweiler named after a character in The Lion King. He also counts the equally unconventional Joe Marler among his best friends in the national squad. “It is a bit odd but it works for some reason,” May says. “We also both like it not working, if that makes sense. We’ve shared a room in the past but we decided last year it was probably best not to. We hide each other’s stuff a lot. It is very childish.”
As a kid at Royal Wootton Bassett RFC, May struggled for county recognition; as recently as last spring some harsh onlookers were comparing him to a crab because of the frequency with which he ran sideways. The sceptics have suddenly fallen quiet, the cattle vet’s son from Wiltshire having finally achieved for England what he has so often done for Gloucester.
Maybe last week’s flash of magic will alter everything. England’s most prolific wing, Rory Underwood, went four years and 23 Tests before he scored his first international try at Twickenham. By the time he retired he had touched down 49 times in 85 appearances for his country. If May scores a quarter as many, he and his coaches will be thrilled.
Even Underwood, though, would have envied May’s solo spectacular. “I just remember getting the ball, there being a two-on-two and thinking: ‘I’m going to go for that last defender. If he steps in, great, if he goes I think I’ll be able to get outside this guy’,” May says. “I’d used up quite a lot of energy getting round the first defender but he [Dagg] gave me the outside and I thought: ‘Just go for it.’ It went real quick.”
He is even swifter to concede he would have struggled to score such a try in an England jersey six months ago: “It’s a confidence thing. In my first few games for England I was just really pleased to be involved. The more you’re in the environment the more comfortable you get and the more confidence you have that you can play at that level. I probably wouldn’t have gone for that try in the Six Nations.”
Gloucester’s improved form has also helped him but much, as ever, boils down to belief. “A couple of years ago when I was injured I got a bit down and saw a psychologist,” May says. “It’s not necessarily that I need it but having people to talk to is always good. You go away from these guys feeling positive and good about yourself. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, is it?”
For, as May also freely admits, the same man who falls asleep on the bus on matchday is a human ball of worry during the week: “Monday to Thursday is my stress time. I’m reviewing what happened last week, working out what I could do better and training hard. Training here is really tiring because we’re trying to replicate Test-match rugby. The most relaxed I am all week is in the final buildup to the game. Even Sunday after the game can be quite stressful. Last Saturday I was all stressed out again, thinking: ‘What’s just happened?’”
It is what happens next that matters now. There are numerous other good English wings – Semesa Rokoduguni, Marland Yarde, Christian Wade, Jack Nowell, Chris Ashton – eager for an opportunity should May or Anthony Watson fluff their lines against South Africa. First and foremost, though, England badly need a win.
“We’re desperate to show what we can do, and not just in dribs and drabs either,” May says. “We want an 80-minute performance. If we get it right we’ve shown we can compete.”
Might this November be the month of May? If so, it will be well worth watching.
