Why Jonny May won’t give Brian Redpath the brush off

Bryan Redpath may be viewed as public enemy No.1 by Gloucester fans after joining Sale Sharks over the summer.
But you will not hear a bad word about him from Gloucester flyer Jonny May, who credits the Scot, known throughout the game as ‘Brush’,  for setting him on the road to stardom.
Redpath was demoted from director of rugby to head coach by Sale last month following a disastrous run of seven successive Premiership defeats.
But May has backed his old boss to succeed and believes Redpath will demonstrate his coaching prowess over the course of the campaign.
“I hate to think how ‘Brush’ has been feeling about the situation up there, but I’m sure he’ll do a good job as backs coach,” May said.
“Everybody in the Gloucester squad has got a lot of respect for him and we wish him all the best because he’s a decent bloke.
“It’s a shame what’s gone on. I don’t know about what happened with the breakdown at Gloucester, but something wasn’t right and Brush went into a new club which he hadn’t had much to do with before pre-season.
“It wasn’t his team and things didn’t work out, but they won last weekend and that could be the start. He has a lot of knowledge and he’s a great bloke who offers a lot, so, hopefully, things will turn around for him.
“Brushy was great for me and I feel bad for him. He helped a lot of us boys at Gloucester and, personally, I’ll always be grateful to him.”
May is battling to get back into the Gloucester mix after missing the last six weeks with a grade one strain of his left posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
It has been a hugely frustrating time for May, 22, who wanted to hit the ground running after touring South Africa with England.
“It’s been breaking me,” May admits. “I’ve been telling everybody I’d be back but the injury’s been niggly and PCLs affect you when you’re sprinting flat-out.
“You could get a front-five player playing with it, but the nature of my position puts extra strain on it and means that last five per cent of fitness is crucial.
“Being called up by England over the summer was a great experience. I came off the bench (against the South Africa Barbarians), scored two tries and just being in that environment, around so many good players, could only be a good thing for me.
“Stuart Lancaster and the coaches were really positive and there’s a really good culture, so I came back in pre-season looking to move on again with Gloucester.
“I picked up my first real injury, though, and it’s been hard to come to terms with, but I’ve just got to man-up and train hard to get back in the mix. I’ll get 100 per cent fit and then work as hard as I can to get back in the team.”
May will return to a team – probably this Saturday at home to London Welsh – brimming with confidence under new boss Nigel Davies.
In his way, however, is veteran centre Mike Tindall, who has created a positive impression since taking on the role of player-coach.
May, revealing an appreciation of Tindall’s enduring ability to read a game, said: “Mike’s the master and I’m his apprentice.
“He brings all us young ones up – we train with him, he sets really high standards and he’s also very chilled-out about the game – and he’s nice and laid back so that gives people the confidence to just go out and play.
“We have to ask him first whether he’s ‘coach Mike’ or ‘mate Mike,’ but that’s good banter and he’s a really good bloke.
“All the players are really glad he stayed because he’s such a hard worker and a great player to have around. He’s the master of the drift defence and he’s just happy for all of us to develop and he brings everyone together.
“He’s got fantastic rugby knowledge and, along with Sinbad (James Simpson-Daniel), there’s a good mix of young and old in our backs.”
The question surrounding May concerns his best position: centre, wing or full- back?
For now he is happy to be Gloucester’s flexible friend, adding: “I spoke to Faz (England defence coach Andy Farrell) about it in August and he’s happy for me to play where I’m picked.
“I’m still learning at the moment and potentially playing in multiple positions gives me more of an avenue into the senior England team, maybe on the bench at first.
“People say, ‘you don’t want to be utility,’ but I’m happy to play where I’m asked. My first priority is to get into the Gloucester team, then we can think about the rest.”
NEALE HARVEY