Fifty up for May after a sober start
AS Jonny MAy prepares to reach his half- century of Test caps, he recalled how he was able to launch his international career simply by staying sober.
The 29-year-old Leicester wing has become a fixture for England during Eddie Jones’s tenure and was due to be included in the team for the World Cup quarter-final in oita named by the head coach in the early hours of this morning. May’s first England appearance came in 2013 in Buenos Aires, and was slightly fortuitous.
‘My first cap didn’t really go how I’d have thought,’ he said. ‘I can’t really remember the numbers, but I think we picked 14 backs in the squad. I was looking around, it was Lions year and I thought, “I’m probably going to get a game”.
‘It was one of those tours where you were going to get a go — maybe only one player wouldn’t get a game. So my mum and dad came out and I wasn’t picked for the first game. I didn’t feel ashamed, but I didn’t feel great because my parents were out there and it looked like I wasn’t going to get a game.
‘Then Christian Wade got called up for the Lions on the morning of the second Test. Basically, because my mum and dad were out there, I had been out for dinner with them and all the other non-23 players went on the p***, so I got the, “Go on, you can play then”!
‘It’s funny how it works out. I ended up starting that game, so 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. It all worked out in the end.’
In the early stages of May’s Test career, he was considered gifted but erratic; a turbo-charged threat out wide, but someone prone to glaring lapses.
With a remarkable dedication to his craft, he has since forged himself into a highly respected and reliable international. May said: ‘I’ve changed a lot, not just as a rugby player but as a person as well along the journey.
‘I’ve probably just tried to be a bit more serious. I’ve matured. I’ve become more focused and maybe a little more introverted as the years have gone on.
‘That is probably a result of the pressure I’ve put on myself. Being under the pressure you are under, and when you really are obsessed with the game, it puts you under strain mentally. I’ve had injuries, I’ve been picked, I’ve not been picked, I’ve had terrible games, and good times as well.’
BILLy VUnIpoLA is set to start in an unchanged England XV against Australia after coming through a high-intensity training session yesterday as he recovers from an ankle sprain suffered in the pool win over Argentina.