May feeling fresh after first summer off since 2011
JONNY May has urged Gloucester to get out of the blocks quickly when the Premiership kicks off again and admitted Harlequins winning the last title did not shock him.
The wing has recovered from an ankle injury and Covid which disrupted the end of the last campaign.
England head coach Eddie Jones gave him the summer off from the Tests against USA and Canada and May is fully refreshed.
The 31-year-old also senses optimism at Kingsholm, where a hi-tec training complex is under construction, and says the Cherry and Whites can take inspiration from Marcus Smith and his title winners.
May said: “I guess we were surprised Quins won the league in one breath but not in another. The margins are so fine, people ask me how are Gloucester going to do? If we win the first two games, which you can, the confidence gets up, you get on a roll, you start winning those tight games.
“Most games are very tight, within seven points, if you are getting on a roll and have got the buzz you are going to keep going and that is exactly what happened with Quins.
“They got a bit of something going and got on with it. They got those tight wins, got the confidence and it was brilliant.
The Premiership final was brilliant rugby.
“I have been around environments enough to know that at pre-season across the Premiership there is a buzz at every team. There is no selection, there have been no losses, everyone is training hard and it is nice weather. Everyone has got hope and optimism and as much that is going on here, it is going on at every other club.
“We will see where we are at after the first few games. That is going to be a big block of rugby in September and October.”
May has spent the summer building up his speed with renowned sprint coach Dan Pfaff making the most of a rare summer of rest and a proper pre-season.
He calculated he has not had a proper club preparation for around a decade.
“I have not had an offseason and pre-season for a very long time,” he added. “My two main preseasons were the World Cups (2015 and 2019) but I haven’t had a club preseason since 2011.”