Sobering moment May won his first cap
JONNY MAY will earn his 50th England cap against Australia on Saturday as an automatic selection – six years after being handed his first because he was the only sober wing available.
May yesterday revealed the strange circumstances that led to him making his international breakthrough while on tour in Argentina.
“I’ll always remember it because it didn’t really go how I’d have thought,” he said.
“I wasn’t picked for the first game, then I wasn’t picked for the second game and I didn’t feel great because my parents were out there and it looked like I wasn’t going to get a game.
“But then, funnily enough, Christian Wade got called up for the Lions on the morning of the game.
“Basically, because my mum and dad were out there, I had gone out for dinner with them. All the other non-23 players had gone out on the p**s so I got told, ‘Go on, you can play’ pretty much. It’s funny how it works out. I ended up starting that game and quite a challenging couple of weeks finished on a really good note as my parents got to watch me play and I got my first cap.”
May will become the fourth England wing to reach a half-century after Rory Underwood, right, Ben Cohen and Mark Cueto.
And he is quickly rising up the scoring charts, his 25 tries just three behind another England legend in Jason Robinson, who is fifth on his country’s all-time list. “If you take a step back, you’d say it’s an awesome achievement, something I’m very proud of and hopefully I’ve made my family proud,” reflected May. “Every time I’ve played for England it’s been an honour, so to do it 50 times is a great achievement.
“But it’s no time to take a step back at the moment, it’s a huge team game at the weekend and one we want to win.”