Facts and stats about the speedster
Who is Jonny May: Ten things you should know about the England wing
Jonny May has been impressing fans and critics alike with his speed and skill on the international stage since he made his England debut back in 2013. Since then he has won Six Nations titles in 2017 and 2020 and played in the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.
The video reel shows May’s tries from the 2019 Six Nations where he was the top scorer.
Ten things you should know about Jonny May
1. Jonny May was born on 1 April 1990 in Chiseldon, Wiltshire.
2. His former England team-mate Danny Care once claimed May thought he was possessed by a chicken.
Care told BBC 5 Live: “He used to go around clucking and thought this chicken demon was inside him. I don’t know whether it was an act or true — with Jonny you just never know.”
May has since denied the rumour but he is still referred to as ‘the chicken’.
3. May married his long-term partner and personal trainer Sophie in 2017.
4. May was childhood friends with pop star Ed Sheeran. The unlikely friendship was formed as May and Sheeran’s mothers were close.
5. He was awarded a diploma in sport from Hartpury College, where he also played in the same team as Wales’ Alex Cuthbert.
6. May has played for three clubs in his professional career: Moseley, Gloucester and Leicester Tigers.
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7. He tried various sports at school, including basketball, football, athletics and pole vault. He has said he’d advise young players to play different sports and different positions within rugby itself.
8. May sustained a knee injury in 2016 that put him out of action for almost a year and at the time he said it was Harry Potter colouring books that got him through his rehab.
9. May once ran the 100m in 10.71 seconds, just 1.01 seconds slower than Usain Bolt’s world record.
10. He scored his first try for England in their 24-21 defeat to New Zealand at Twickenham in 2014. His try against Italy – his 32nd for England – in the 2021 Six Nations moved him into second on England’s all-time top try-scorers list behind Rory Underwood (49).
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