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Jonny May has just got quicker and claims he is in the physically in the shape of his life. Australia have been warned. For all the talk of Saturday being a physical battle, England are preparing to unleash potentially their quickest backline in recent memory. Anthony Watson is a Maserati, according to Eddie Jones - "he's an absolute flyer" - but last Saturday, May posted his quickest time when he went for a morning sprint on the Twickenham turf. He registered a time of 10.49 m/s in a 40m sprint, and for good measure posted a personal best 71cm for a countermovement jump. And all that while he was recovering from the hamstring strain that ruled him out of last weekend's win over Argentina. Jones sees him as England's "incumbent winger", hailing his speed, determination, improved strength and eye for the tryline but much of the focus on May this week has been for off-field reasons. He received an invitation to visit North Korea after speaking of his interest in their politics and George Ford, his Leicester and England teammate, revealed May's time living in his flat has come to an end. But away from the quirkiness, May is a deeply professional player. Jones says he "trains harder than any other player", and May spoke of how he spends three to four times longer warming up and down before and after training than on the pitch itself. "The more you train, the more you need to look after your body and respect it," May said. "What I can do athletically is my strength and I invest more time trying to make my strengths stronger than anything else. "I'm still getting quicker and more powerful. It takes a lot of hard work but it's also important to develop your all-round game. I've worked hard on making sure that's got better as well." The time he registered at Twickenham left him "gobsmacked" but it is testament to his desire to constantly get quicker and stronger. But May is a rugby player first, athlete second. Before a ball was kicked this term, May swapped Gloucester for Leicester and he has hit the ground running, quite literally, at the Tigers with seven tries in seven Aviva Premiership appearances. The move has seen him take his game to the next level and England will reap the benefits. "I have to take confidence from what I have done," May said. "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." Saturday sees him link up with Elliot Daly and Watson in England's back three, with Mike Brown absent after sustaining a head knock in their 21-8 win over Argentina. Jones has charged the backs with running the ball back at Australia and May hopes the trio will bring the best out of each other. "Elliot is a fast guy as well, he's got some wheels and we know Tone is quick," May said. "It's an exciting back three but we'll miss Brownie." Daly's left-foot kicking sees him start on the left flank, with May out on the right. May normally finds himself on the left wing and the rationale behind that sees his quirky side returning. His speed may be improving by the training session, but the man remains the same. "I've played mostly on the left wing, mainly because I preferred the number 11 to 14.... I prefer odd numbers to even numbers. I just like all the odd numbers really."
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