Jonny May: The former Gloucester England winger is 'enjoying' not thinking about international players

Gloucester winger Jonny May says he is enjoying not having to worry about the Six Nations for the first time after retiring from England duty in November.

Only Rory Underwood has more tries for the England men's national team than he had 36 in May.

“It was refreshing, this is the first time the Six Nations has been around the corner and I don't have to think or worry about it,” he said.

“There's a lot of competition, there's a lot of pressure – which is good pressure – and a lot of excitement, which is true.

“But for me, I'm very glad I wasn't a part of it because I feel like I served there. It's nice not to think about it.”

“I'll be here, I'll train, I can take care of my body, I can hone and invest my time here. I can stay at home, I have clarity, I don't do that.” “I have to confirm that – so it's all very positive and reinforces that I'm very happy and satisfied with the decision I've made.”

May has made just four appearances for Gloucester this season, due to the World Cup and a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle during the Cherry & Whites' defeat to Bath in November – but he has scored three tries in that time.

He made his Premier League return from the bench in their 32-26 defeat to Harlequins last weekend, scoring a try, and said he is enjoying competing for a starting position with teammates Louis Rees-Zammit and Ollie Thorley.

He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: “It's something I embrace. It was an attraction for me when I came back to the club to compete with these guys. I want to be around the best and I think that's what we have.” .

“I think you need three good wingers in the team… It's really good that we're all competing for places.

“The possibility is that one can sit on the bench and come on and add, as I tried to do at the weekend, and I think that puts our back three in a really positive place.”

The defeat to Quins was Gloucester's eighth successive loss in the Premier League, leaving them in ninth place on 16 points.

May, who returned to Gloucester for his second spell in 2020, said he was not “too concerned” about the results and believes victory is not far away.

They travel to Bath for the Wests Country derby on Sunday.

“It's been a tough time for club and country. The only thing you can do is focus on the things we can control, focus on what we're doing, look to get better, and the reality is that we're going to win at some stage,” May said.

“Of course we are preparing to win every game and we hope and believe that this week can be a winning one, regardless of who we play in the Premier League, whether at home or away.

“But if we don't, we'll shake it off, we'll dig deeper, we'll try to get better and we'll find a way to win.

“There's a lot of talent, we work too hard and we're too good a team to not be able to win and turn things around at some point.”