Jonny May leaving no stone unturned in quest to become the fastest wing in world rugby

Had England’s three autumn internationals fallen in the middle of the Rugby World Cup that Eddie Jones has been brought in to win in two years’ time, it’s very possible that Jonny May would have been running out against Argentina. After all, the Leicester Tigers wing has revealed that despite suffering a hamstring injury just two weeks prior to the first Test of the autumn, he spent Saturday morning setting a new personal best sprint speed.

That news certainly comes as a surprise, not only because May was ruled out of the match last Thursday, but because he had strained his hamstring on the first day of England’s Portuguese training camp. But just like his fellow-wing Elliot Daly, May made a rapid recovery, only to fall what must have been hours short of proving his fitness for the clash with the Pumas.

“It was a bit frustrating. I tweaked my hammy in the first session out in Portugal,” May recalled after being selected in the side that will take on Australia this Saturday. “We did everything we could to get it right. When you get through our Wednesday training session you know you're ready because those sessions are designed to be harder than Test matches. I'm looking forward to it now.

“[I was] quite close but we had to make the decision on Tuesday.

“It's not the end of the world missing a week but the timing of it wasn't great for me. It was pretty frustrating. I was pretty excited to get to camp and compete for a spot so to be injured in the first session was a bit of a disappointment.”

That will no doubt be due to his incredible run of form since upping sticks in Gloucester and moving north-east to Leicester Tigers where his try record currently stands at 10 in nine matches.

“I have to take confidence from what I have done,” May added. “I have been playing well. I feel I am physically in the shape of my life. I went to Leicester to get better and I feel I have got better. With that expectation comes pressure as well but I have to embrace that. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to play the best I can for England.”

The wing’s desire to make himself better is something that has been picked up on by both his coach and his teammates. Eddie Jones has often talked of May as a Forest Gump-type player, pointing him in the right direction and letting him run to his heart’s content. But something has changed since May starred on the tour of Argentina this summer, and that’s been put down to his relentless preparation in order to become the fastest wing in the world.

“He played well for us in Argentina, particularly the second Test,” said Jones. “He suffered quite a serious ankle injury and played for 65 minutes and played superbly. He's strong, he's fast, he'll be the fastest winger on the field and any opportunities he gets, he'll turn into points for us.

“He's an extreme professional, he's got quite a quirky character but he's very serious about his rugby. He trains probably harder than any other player, he's consistently looking at ways to improve himself and we are glad to have him back in the team this week.”

Explaining how he goes about his preparations, May explained: “I'd say I spend at least three or four times as much time warming up and warming down as I do on the training pitch. It's the way you've got to be if you want to perform at the top end, for me personally anyway. For me it's necessary to get all those things right to do what I want to do.

“It's almost like an OCD routine...I've always done stretching from my teenage years. The more you train, the more you need to look after your body and respect it.”

The result of this was not just a rapid return to the England side, but a new personal best that rivals the greatest sprinter ever seen. Ahead of England’s 21-8 win over Argentina on Saturday, May had the Twickenham turf to himself in order to give his hamstring a first full run-out since suffering the injury.

“I was gobsmacked that I did it really because I had just tweaked my hammy the week before but I jumped a high jump and I ran a quick run. It’s probably having a week just after injuring yourself, you have a week to recharge,” he added.

“I did a CMJ (counter movement jump) of 71cm and a top speed of 10.49m/s last Saturday. That’s a moment in time on GPS, on grass.” May went on to reveal that the speed was clocked up during a 50m sprint that, if replicated over 100m, would post a time of 9.53s, half-a-tenth faster than Usain Bolt’s world record.

But May is not getting carried away with himself. “It’s just a different discipline because with rugby, when you sprint you go balls out and let it all go. But the sprinters are trained to build into a run and hit speeds that we couldn’t get near. You’d like to think over a 40m run you’d be quite quick with that, but those guys don’t have to hit rucks and catch high balls. You have to invest a lot of time in that and getting hit around every weekend which isn’t the best for getting faster.”

However, while May has no intention of attempting a campaign to become Bolt’s successor, he does have his eyes on becoming the fastest wing in world rugby.

“I have a lot of pride in what I do and care about what I do,” he said. “I put in everything I can every day, for as long as I can remember, do be doing what I can. It is a huge achievement for me to be starting in this England team given how competitive it is at the moment. I am grateful for the opportunity. I have worked hard for it but I am looking forward to the weekend.”