By Chalie Talbot-Smith Sportsbeat
June 3 2016

If Chris Ashton cannot get in Eddie Jones' squad then Jonny May knows he has a real battle to regain his England place next season ...

The 26-year-old – who has six tries from 19 Red Rose caps – was therefore forced to watch on as England returned to something approaching their former glories under Jones. The back three of Mike Brown, Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson started all five games of England’s first Grand Slam success in 13 years. Those three were all guaranteed spots on the plane to Australia this summer and if you throw in Alex Goode – the Premiership player of the season – and Marland Yarde then Jones’ cup runneth over in the backfield.

So much so that Ashton – who ran in nine tries in five games in the season run-in for Saracens as they claimed a European and domestic double – was overlooked. And with the likes of Christian Wade and Semesa Rokoduguni also knocking on the door – May admits he has a lot of catching up to do. “Chris [Ashton] is a great try-scorer and a great player, he’s been playing some of his best rugby and he’s a player who keeps improving,” said May, speaking at a CBRE All Schools programme celebration event at Twickenham.

“He’ll probably feel unlucky not to be in there, but it’s so competitive and not everybody can play so he’ll just have to keep working hard and knocking on the door and hopefully he’ll get his chance. “Our back three was a strong point for England and it has been for a while, we’ve got lots of talented players, and that’s great for us because it keeps the standard high and pushes everybody on. “I still believe that my best rugby days are ahead of me, and that I just need to be patient and get my knee 100% and then get back to playing.

Getting back in that England team would be great, but there’s a long way before that so I have to be patient and take my time with it. “We’re all a group of players continually striving to improve, and they’re currently doing very well and raising the bar every time they play. “Having good competition is something I thrive on, and it’s only going to make us better competing for those spots, although my head’s not really in that at present, I’m just focused on getting my knee right. Yarde deserves to have that opportunity and all the best to him.”

A first Grand Slam in 13 years was followed by a five-try win over Wales in the inaugural Old Mutual Wealth Cup last month and now attention has turned to the summer tour of Australia. England have only won three times Down Under in their history – and the last time was six years ago – but May is confident Jones’ crew have what it takes to be victorious over the Wallabies. “[England] have got everything going for them. Off the back of a disappointing World Cup, they’ve turned it around, have a few new coaches and players but fundamentally it’s the same group of players and I think they’ve definitely learnt the lessons from the World Cup,” he added. “It’s a young group of talented players who are constantly learning and evolving. They’ll go to Australia with nothing to lose, and they’ve definitely got the talent to win and they don’t have too much pressure, so I’m hopeful of good things.”

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