England’s Jonny May (right) and Alex Goode during training, yesterday.England’s Jonny May (right) and Alex Goode during training, yesterday.

Jonny May accepts breaking his nose for a second game in succession when England play Scotland today is a strong possibility.

May will take his place on the left wing of an unchanged starting XV after being given the all-clear to play at Murrayfield despite incurring an undisplaced fracture to his nose against France.

The Gloucester rookie lasted only eight minutes of the 26-24 Six Nations defeat in Paris after colliding with the knee of team-mate Mike Brown.

Withdrawn from the Stade de France as a precautionary measure, a specialist subsequently cleared him for the trip to Edinburgh, where he is expecting a recurring problem to strike once again.

“I’ve broken my nose in the past and I’ve had a few knocks on it recently. It was waiting to go almost,” May said.

“I will probably get a smack on the nose early in the Scotland game, but it’s sore most of the time anyway. It gets hit in most games!

“If that happens it might bleed, in which case I’ll go off and get it treated and go straight back on if I can. At least we’re aware of what it is this time. I’m not worried about it.”

May has ruled out the need to wear a protective face mask at Murrayfield and, despite the brief duration of his second cap, he enjoyed every second of it.

“I wasn’t fazed by the occasion and was relishing the environment,” the 23-year-old said.

“There was no point getting down in the dumps about the nose when I didn’t know what the situation was. Luckily enough there was a positive outcome.

“It wasn’t particularly painful at the time –it’s just that there was so much blood and the doctor wasn’t too sure of what it was.

“In terms of trying to protect me, he made the decision that I wouldn’t go back on because he was worried that I might have fractured my cheekbone or eye socket.”

It is the first time in Stuart Lancaster’s two-year reign as England head coach that the same starting XV has been retained for successive matches.

England were crushed by their late defeat at the Stade de France, but have been consoled by a spirited performance full of attacking intent that was worthy of a different outcome.

“We want the team to build on the display against France and use that defeat as motivation,” Lancaster said.

“It’s a second chance for this team. Having reviewed the game there were a lot more ups than downs. We have to trust the players to get the win this time.”

Meanwhile, Stade Francais back Hugo Bonneval will make his international debut when France host Italy tomorrow as coach Philippe Saint-Andre continues his policy of blooding fresh talent in the northern hemisphere tournament.

Bonneval’s inclusion is one of three changes Saint-Andre has made to the starting line-up that beat England last weekend.

The 23-year-old, who occupies the full-back position for his club, will win his first cap on the left wing at the expense of Maxime Medard, who was omitted from the squad.

“It’s a logical choice following his performances with Stade Francais and from what he has shown us for three weeks in training,” Saint-Andre said.

Fixtures
Today: 16.30 Ireland vs Wales. 17.00 Scotland vs England.
Tomorrow: 17.00 France vs Italy.

Standings: Ireland (1-0-0) 2; Wales (1-0-0) 2; France (1-0-0) 2; England (0-0-1) 0; Italy (0-0-1) 0; Scotland (0-0-1) 0.

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