Jonny May: Gloucester's ex-England winger 'enjoying' not thinking about internationals

Winger Jonny May retired from England duty after reaching the semi-final at the World Cup last autumn

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

The 33-year-old called time on his international career after the World Cup, having won 78 Test caps.

Only Rory Underwood has more tries for England's men's side than May's 36.

"It's been refreshing, this is the first time that a Six Nations is 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, rightly so.

"But for me I'm very happy not to be a part of it because I feel like I've done my service there. It's nice to not be thinking about it.

"I'm going to be here, I'm going to be training, I can look after my body, I can sharpen up and invest my time here. I can stay at home, I've got clarity, I don't have to stress - so it's all very positive and it's reinforcing that I'm very happy and content with the decision I've made."

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

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

"It's something that I embrace. It was a draw to me when I came back to the club to compete with these guys. I want to be around the very best and I believe that's what we've got," he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"I think you need three good wingers in a squad... it works really well to have all three of us competing for spots.

"The likelihood is one can be on the bench and come on and add, like I tried to do at the weekend, and I think it puts our back three in a really positive place."

'There's too much talent for Gloucester to not win'

May has scored three tries in four games for Gloucester so far this season

The defeat by Quins was Gloucester's eighth consecutive loss in the Premiership, leaving them in ninth place on 16 points.

May, who re-joined Gloucester for his second spell in 2020, said he is not "overly worried" about the results, however, and believes a win is not far away.

They travel to Bath in a West Country derby on Sunday.

"I've seen my fair share of tough times for club and country. The only thing you can do is zoom in on the things we can control, zoom in on what we're doing, look to get better and the reality is we're going to get a win at some point," May said.

"Of course we prepare for every game to win and we hope and believe that this week can be a win, regardless of who we're playing in the Premiership, home or away.

"But if we don't we'll brush it off our shoulders, we'll look in even more, we'll try and get better and we'll find a way to win.

"There's too much talent, and we work too hard and we're too good a team not to find a win and turn this around at some point."