Henry Arundell has been compared to England legend Jonny May after blitzing his way to a hat-trick in his side’s demolition of Wales in the Six Nations.
Flying winger Arundell completed his treble in the first half of the 48-7 thrashing of Steve Tandy’s beleaguered team as England kickstarted what they hope will be campaign that leads to a first Six Nations title since 2020.
The 23-year-old now has 12 tries in 13 matches for his country, with this his second hat-trick following a five-try haul against Chile in the 2023 World Cup.
Try-scoring has always been a big part of Arundell’s game, with his electric pace and athleticism making him a handful for defenders, but he put in an impressive all-round display against Wales.
And captain-for-the-day Jamie George praised the youngster’s desire to improve, comparing him to May, who bagged 36 tries in 78 matches for England in an international career that stretched from 2013 to 2023.
When asked in his post-match press conference how Arundell has changed as a player and a bloke since making his England debut in 2022, George deadpanned, “he’s still a terrible bloke…” before grinning, “no, he’s good.”
“He’s been brilliant,” added the hooker. “He really reminds me of Jonny May in so many ways in terms of his diligence and preparation. The way that he trains and the way that he’s gone away and developed so many different areas of his game.
“When you’ve got a player like that on the field, it gives everyone else so much confidence that if we work hard in the middle and create space for someone like that, he’s going to capitalise on it. I thought he was fantastic today in all areas of the game.”
George’s sentiments were echoed by England coach Steve Borthwick, who was atypically effusive about the flying winger and also highlighted his desperation to improve.
“Henry is a player who has incredible ability running with the ball,” explained Borthwick. “His ability to find the try line is excellent but what I’ve been really impressed by is his attitude to improve other aspects.
“He has worked exceptionally hard on other areas of his game since the autumn and he has come back to the Six Nations an even better player.
“There’s a lot of potential in the whole squad. We have a great level of experience and we have younger players emerging, Henry is one of those.”
Arundell will hope to maintain his starting place for next weekend’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland in Edinburgh, where Gregor Townsend’s side will be out for redemption after a bruising opening defeat to Italy.
