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'If I'm honest, when I left, I was fed up with the club. I felt stagnant'

Jonny May (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

“If I’m honest, when I left, I was fed up with the club. I felt stagnant and like I was underachieving; like I needed a new challenge.”

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Jonny May speaks to me via Zoom, sat in front of a huge Gloucester Rugby badge. It adorns the wall of one of the offices at Kingsholm, from where he is conducting interviews. It is the same badge that sits on his chest. The same badge he left behind in August 2017, in a deal that sent the rugby world into something of a spin.

Nearly three years to the day and he has returned. A prodigal son of sorts. This is, after all, his home. He came up through the Hartpury academy ranks, spent eight seasons climbing the Cherry and White ladder. His Wiltshire accent swirling around his vowels as he speaks, his face illuminating as he talks of his dad and how excited he will be to see the boy flying down the wing, in front of the Shed again.

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“I thought when I left that I might not ever have the opportunity to come back. So I am very lucky. Maybe I could have done one more year at Leicester but I am back here. I have a spring in my step; I want to come to work every day, and these are all things that are very important to me.”

It was an odyssey that he talks of in vague terms. He doesn’t take my invitation to open up fully but it is clear he looks back at it all as an experience that has improved him.

“I’m a very loyal person. I don’t like change very much so it (the move to Leicester in 2017) was a very tough thing for me to do. But 100%, I needed it. When I signed there, I really did think we were going to win trophies. It ended up being very different. It was a difficult few seasons. But I still got that challenge. And I’m a better player for it.”

“The move back wasn’t an easy decision. I sat down with David (Humphreys) and heard what he had to say. Leicester had Steve Borthwick coming in, that was a big draw, I’d worked with him, I like him, there was a chance to see if we could turn it around but this (Kingsholm) is where my heart is, if I’m honest. It’s closer to my family. It came down to which contract gave me the most positivity and desire, gave me the push I needed. In the end, it was Gloucester who gave me those feelings.”

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Some raised an eyebrow at May’s re-signing. The wing was an area in which Gloucester had a wealth of talent; May’s signature was seen by a few as an extravagance. Of course, when you think about it, from Jonny’s perspective, the talent already in place only made it more appealing.

“There’s some really good young wingers here that I want to compete with, in the right way. That’s what I wanted, what I needed. I want to bring them on but also be pushed by them. I saw that as an opportunity to get better, to have a challenge.”

But what of the changes that have happened in between his signing and now. May put pen to paper with the previous Director of Rugby and will play his first game back for the club under a different management set-up.

“Nothing has changed for me. As you get older you kinda care less about the sideshow, or whatever you want to call it, going on around you. You can’t control it or necessarily affect it. It’s a crazy time at pretty much every club at the moment. You just have to get on with your job. I haven’t been that bothered by it; I’ve met Skivs (George Skivington) and he’s a great guy, we’ve got Alex King coming in with a superb reputation and we have, fundamentally, the same group of brilliant players. I just can’t wait for the rugby to start again.”

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Jonny May

There is a growing contingent of people who view May as essential to Eddie Jones’ England side and it’s not difficult to see why. Even though his Tigers time didn’t work in the way he wanted, the last three years have seen May score 19 tries in 29 international appearances. If you ask fans to put an England back three together, May’s inclusion is almost universally agreed. I ask if he’s noticed that change?

“It’s lovely to hear that people think that about me. All I’ve done is the same thing for a very, very long time; I’ve kept working on my game. I’ve had people comment on the fact that I am better than I used to be, but the improvements for me have been gradual, so it’s difficult to notice them. But I guess I’ve been playing a lot of test matches, been around a lot of top coaches, top players for the last few years. And I’m a sponge; I’ve kept my head down and kept working hard.”

But there is a noticeable development. And it is evident in the way he speaks and answers my questions. He seems to have found himself. Found the time and weight to his character where previously he was more frivolous, perhaps more flippant. If you speak to the Gloucester players about the May of before, they will regale you with wonderful stories about laughter and silliness. But this isn’t that Jonny. And with that change, his game has grown. There was always the talent, but perhaps now there’s a greater understanding of himself as a player, which gives that talent greater depth and consistency.

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Jonny May scoring against Leicester Tigers in 2013 (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

“I have an appreciation for where my mindset is now. My game understanding and what I am as a player, what is expected of me, week in week out, what my role is on a game day, and that gives me clarity. And that clarity, ultimately, is what gives me consistency. I am confident in what I do, perhaps more so now. But my attitude to each day has not changed. Every day, I get up and think about what will make me better; do everything the best I can. Leave no stone unturned. And then get up and do it the next day. And if things are going great, then brilliant, and if things are going bad, tough luck, get up and do it anyway. That’s my mindset.”

And we are looking down the barrel of potentially twelve months of unrelenting rugby. Does he dare think about next summer and the Lions?

“Of course you do. There are things I want to achieve as a player, but all I can control is my performance. I think Eddie (Jones) has taught me that. When Eddie came in we all wanted to get picked for that game or this game, but you have your role to do, and that is what you have to concentrate on. I want to go on a Lions tour, play for England and Gloucester as much as I can, but as appealing as those thoughts are, they are a distraction to me. In terms of the playing schedule, I knew too well when I was sitting at home, having done a nice training session, had a nice breakfast, sitting there watching a Netflix boxset, or in the garden in the sun; I knew there would be a price for this. But that is why it was good; I used the time to become as resilient as possible. I had to get my hips, my core, my hamstrings as resilient as possible, and that is what I’ve been concentrating on: body resilience for a load of rugby coming our way. I’ve been like a bear getting ready for hibernation, getting stocked up on everything.”

A grin flashes briefly and there is a glimmer of the old Jonny as he realises how much fun he could have with that last simile. And when I point that out, he concedes that is where the most change has taken place.

“When I was last here, I was much more about jokes and fun and wanting to be the centre of attention. And I still can be, because you need different characters in this game. But it just means too much to me now, not to be focused. I had an interview just before you and they asked if I would describe myself in three words and I thought; autistic, OCD and anxious, because I am still those things, but there is more focus nowadays.”

Jonny May and Ben Youngs celebrate during England’s last match against Australia last November. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“I feel more comfortable with myself. I know what I do. I lie awake at night beating myself up but I also know that I will do that, and I understand that is the process that I go through. So that makes it easier; I’m used to it, in a way. But I don’t want to speak too soon. I know what this game is like. Rugby’s an enigma code; the answer changes each week; it is never the same. But yeah, you’re right, I think I am being truer to myself. But I haven’t cracked it.”

Gloucester need revitalising and, after a tricky period, have done some excellent recruitment both on and off the field. But May’s re-signing could be the pivotal move. Not just because he is a player at the very top of his game, but because he represents a telling adage for everyone at Kingsholm: change can always work if you are prepared to work hard.

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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