Sin-bin hurt my chances, says May

JONNY MAY fears his yellow card in England’s RBS 6 Nations opener against France may have harmed his prospects of claiming a starting wing place, now all the leading contenders are fit. The Gloucester player was sinbinned on February 4 for what was ruled a dangerous tackle on Gael Fickou at Twickenham — and days later demoted to the bench against Wales in Cardiff. The 26-year-old is braced for increased competition, now Anthony Watson is available and Elliot Daly has been so effectively switched from midfield. Head coach Eddie Jones is ready to make changes for the home-banker fixture against Italy on Sunday and May is concerned that his disciplinary lapse could continue to count against him. ‘It probably isn’t a good thing,’ he said, matter-of-factly. ‘We always get judged on what we do out on the pitch and it had a negative impact on the game. It wasn’t a great start for me but I came back on and worked as hard as I could to have a positive impact. ‘I’ve got to learn from the card. It’s a game of rugby, you’re flying into it and sometimes if you take somebody down, it doesn’t look the best. But you can’t use that as an excuse. It may be annoying that those things happen, but I can’t let it happen again.’ Asked if he sensed that the yellow card was a factor in him being among the reserves a week later, May added: ‘It could have been. Eddie said to me that he wanted Jack Nowell because he’s more direct and a more through-theline player, whereas I’m more a round-the-outside player who needs a bit more space. Who knows if the card played a part?’ For the first time, Jones has all his wingers fit; May, Nowell, Watson and Marland Yarde, along with Daly — who scored the matchwinning try in Cardiff. The Australian wants a blend of work-rate and ‘racehorse’ pace. ‘We honestly don’t know who’s going to play, it’s that tight,’ said May. ‘I guess me and Ant would be under the racehorse category, so I guess we are competing for spots with one another. We’re both quick guys and it’ll be for Eddie to decide who he wants.’