Jonny May facts for kids
May representing Gloucester during the Aviva Premiership
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| Full name | Jonathan James May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 1 April 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Chiseldon, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb; 14 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hartpury College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jonathan James May (born on April 1, 1990) is a well-known English professional rugby union player. He plays as a wing, which is a very fast position in rugby. Jonny May currently plays for the Pro D2 club Soyaux Angoulême. He also used to play for the England national team.
May started his professional rugby career at Gloucester. He also spent some time playing for Moseley on loan. In 2017, he moved to Leicester Tigers and then came back to Gloucester in July 2020. He played his first game for England in 2013. He played 78 games for England and scored 36 tries. This makes him England's second-highest try scorer ever! He announced he was retiring from international rugby in October 2023.
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Early Life and Training
Jonny May was born in Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England. He went to St Francis school and then The Ridgeway School. When he was a child, May played rugby for the Mini & Junior teams at Wootton Bassett RFC. He also trained with the academy of Swindon Town, which is a football club.
Later, May studied at Hartpury College. There, he was part of the Hartpury College RFC rugby team. His coach was Allan Lewis. A future star, Alex Cuthbert, who played for Wales and the Lions, was also on that team. May also spent some time in Canberra, Australia, and played briefly for the ACT Brumbies academy.
Club Rugby Career
Jonny May joined Gloucester's rugby academy. He played his first game for Gloucester Rugby in a friendly match against Bath on August 15, 2009. The very next weekend, he scored a try against Connacht after coming off the bench.
His first experience in a big competition was in the Heineken Cup. He came on as a substitute against Newport Gwent Dragons. About a month later, he started his first game against London Wasps in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, playing on the wing.
On February 20, 2010, May was a last-minute player for Gloucester against Leicester Tigers. Even though Gloucester lost, May played very well. He scored a try in his first Premiership game. He played two more starting games for Gloucester that season. During the 2009–10 season, he also played for Championship club Moseley on loan.
In January 2012, May scored two tries for Gloucester against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup. In March 2012, he won the first-ever LV= Breakthrough Player Award. Gloucester also named him their Young Player of the Year for 2011-2012. His amazing solo try against Harlequins was even named Try-of-the-Season at the Aviva Premiership Awards. In December 2012, May signed a new contract with Gloucester until 2015.
On October 24, 2014, May signed another long-term contract with Gloucester. At the end of that season, he scored the winning try in the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final against Exeter Chiefs. He also started in the final game where Gloucester beat Edinburgh to win the trophy.
May scored the first try in the 2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup final. However, Gloucester lost that game to Stade Français. In August 2017, May moved to Leicester Tigers in a player swap deal. He started strongly at Leicester, scoring nine tries in his first eight games. He even won the club's player of the month award.
After three seasons with Leicester, it was announced in April 2020 that May would return to Gloucester. He played his last game for Gloucester in the final of the 2023–24 EPCR Challenge Cup. They lost to Sharks in that game. Overall, he scored 78 tries in 193 matches for Gloucester across his two times at the club.
In June 2024, it was announced that Jonny May had joined the French club Pro D2 side Soyaux Angoulême.
International Rugby Career
Jonny May scored a try for the England U20 team against Wales in 2010. He was part of the team that finished fourth at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship. He scored the final try in their semi-final loss to Australia.
In January 2012, May played his first games for the England A team. He came off the bench against Ireland Wolfhounds and then started against Scotland. Later that year, he was chosen for the senior England team's 2012 tour of South Africa. He scored two tries in a friendly game against South Africa Barbarians.
May was part of the squad for the 2013 tour of Argentina. On June 15, 2013, he played his first official Test game for England. He started in the last game as England won the series.
May was selected for the 2014 Six Nations Championship. He started in all five games as England won their first Triple Crown in over ten years. He played in the first game of the 2014 summer tour of New Zealand. Later that year, he scored his first international try against New Zealand. He then scored two more tries against Samoa.
May scored a try against Ireland in a warm-up game for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He scored his only try of the World Cup in a game against Wales. England, as the host nation, did not make it past the group stage. He was part of the team that won the 2017 Six Nations Championship. He scored tries against Wales, France, and Ireland in the 2018 Six Nations Championship. Later that year, he scored in all three games during the 2018 tour of South Africa.
May was the top try scorer in the 2019 Six Nations Championship, with six tries. This included three tries against France and one each against Ireland, Italy, and Scotland. Later that year, he was chosen for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He scored a try in a group stage win against Argentina. May played his fiftieth game for England in the quarter-final, where he scored two tries against Australia. He started in the final game, where England lost to South Africa and finished as runners-up.
May scored both of England's tries in a loss to France in the first game of the 2020 Six Nations Championship. He started in the final game of the competition, where England won in Italy to claim the title. Later that year, he scored two tries in a win against Ireland during the Autumn Nations Cup. He started in the final, where England beat France in extra time to win the trophy. In February 2021, May became England's second highest try scorer. He passed rugby legends like Will Greenwood and Ben Cohen when he scored his thirty-second try during the 2021 Six Nations Championship.
May was not originally picked for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. However, he was called up later as a replacement for an injured player, Anthony Watson. He scored his thirty-sixth and final try for England in a warm-up game against Fiji. May started in five of England's games at the tournament, including the semi-final loss to South Africa. England finished third in the tournament. After the World Cup, he announced his retirement from international rugby. He finished his England career with 36 tries in 78 games.
In June 2024, May scored two tries for the Barbarians in a game against Fiji at Twickenham.
Achievements and Awards
- England
- Six Nations Championship: 2017, 2020
- Autumn Nations Cup: 2020
- Rugby World Cup runner-up: 2019
- Rugby World Cup 3rd place: 2023
- Gloucester
- EPCR Challenge Cup: 2014–15
- EPCR Challenge Cup runner-up: 2016–17, 2023–24
See also
In Spanish: Jonny May para niños
