Jonny May leaves Leicester, agrees homecoming at Gloucester

Jonny May will rejoin Gloucester ahead of next season and leave Leicester Tigers after three years at Welford Road.

The England wing’s departure serves a huge blow to Leicester, who agreed a swap deal with the Cherry and Whites which saw lock Ed Slater move to Kingsholm in 2017, and comes after TRP reported Tigers had asked May to take a £100,000 pay cut during contract negotiations.

May, 30, will leave Leicester boasting a prolific strike rate of 30 tries in 44 appearances.

He will now join a Gloucester back three boasting England teammate Ollie Thorley, on the verge of winning a debut cap, and Welsh teen sensation Louis Rees-Zammit.

Gloucester director of rugby, David Humphreys said:

“We’ve been talking to Jonny for a little while, and were very close to an agreement before the Premiership was postponed and our discussions had to be put on hold. With the changing landscape in English rugby and beyond, we very much appreciated Jonny’s pragmatic approach to our discussions.  Our supporters will have watched his performances for England over the last couple of seasons, and will be looking forward to watching him back playing at Kingsholm for Gloucester. There’s no doubt he’s a world class player, who would be an asset to any side.

“He will not only, I’m sure, be a great player for us again, but also a great mentor to our young wingers like Ollie Thorley and Louis Rees-Zammit. It’ll be a tremendous help for them to have someone with Jonny’s experience to learn from.”

Capped 56 times by England, May shared his views on the switch back to Gloucester – the club at the top of his preferred destinations.

“Once I had made the decision to leave Leicester there was only ever one club I really wanted to play for. I’m grateful to David Humphreys and everyone at Gloucester Rugby who have found a way for me to rejoin. I’m very excited about being back in Cherry and White playing at Kingsholm again.”

As for Leicester, who took themselves off the open market last month having pursued new investment, head coach Geordan Murphy said losing May was a key example of how squad management was a difficult task.

“Assembling the playing squad is a huge challenge with a balance of the players brought in from elsewhere and the talent you bring through as a club,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately, the international game restricts the number of appearances players can make for their clubs in the modern game and, with the strain that inflating salaries under the salary cap has put on clubs, you need to find the right balance that best works for you across an entire season while still being able to build strength in depth across the squad.

“We have some outstanding players in our backline, but we lose a number of them during the international breaks, which provides its challenges in building continuity and development there.

“We are extremely confident in the playing group we are assembling for next season and believe we are adding even more world class talent to the existing world class talent we have in the squad, as well as exciting youngsters at Tigers who have opportunities now to step up and take their chances.

“We have made no secret of wanting to change and needing to improve, with a focus this year on bolstering the forward pack to provide the platform for an exciting backline at its best.

“We wish him all the best in his next chapter, and thank him for what he has given to the club during his three seasons in Leicester.”