By Will Kelleher, Sportsbeat

WHEN Jonny May scored a sensational individual try against New Zealand in November; he seemed nailed on to not only make September’s World Cup squad but also enter the tournament as England’s first choice wing.

Fast forward six months and it’s a very different story altogether.

After starting the Six Nations games against Wales and Italy; the Gloucester man was dropped for the final three matches of the tournament in favour of Exeter’s Jack Nowell.

He now faces an anxious wait during the final few months of the season, knowing he must impress England boss Stuart Lancaster again if he’s to fulfill his ambitions of playing at a home World Cup.

One man who has trained and played alongside and has seen how good May is firsthand is England’s premier full-back Mike Brown.

And the Harlequins No.15 is convinced May will bounce back from his Six Nations disappointment, pointing to the positive attitude he had in England training at Pennyhill Park in the final weeks of the tournament. “Jonny just has to keep working hard like he has been doing,” said Brown, speaking at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens - the world’s largest schools rugby tournament.

“He has shown great attitude up until he got dropped and then from there he showed an even better attitude when he came back into camp from being dropped.

“Obviously it’s a massive disappointment, we’ve all been there. You can go into your shell or be a bit grumpy but he hasn’t shown that at all which is great to see.

“He’s obviously a world class player, just look at what he did to New Zealand. It’s all to play for. It’s just one of those things. They just wanted to put different people in. But if he keeps working hard, he’ll be back there.”

Lancaster has now put his faith in Exeter’s Nowell and Bath’s Anthony Watson as his starting wings and Brown has been impressed with the impact both relative international novices have made.

“Jack is a quality player, I’ve got a lot of time for him,” added Brown. “I worked closely with the wingers so Jack and Anthony have really impressed me, just their maturity as young players are so much further than when I was a 21 or 22 years old.

“They are both high skilful, quality players but obviously their maturity as well. They are striving to be the best they can be, they are always looking to improve.

“Looking at players like me that has been around a bit longer than them, seeing that they can do to be a bit better. It’s great to see.

“I think Jack got a bit of stick before about his finishing and that he didn’t score too many tries but I think as a winger, as soon as you start scoring they come around a bit more often. It’s great to see him doing that. Anthony Watson as well, he’s scoring tries and playing well so for me, it’s great to play alongside those two young lads. They’re making me feel old, and keeping me on my toes!”

England Rugby Union player, Mike Brown, was speaking on behalf of HSBC at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens where he helped run HSBC coaching clinics for schools during the tournament.