Born in London, Tom joined the Falcons as a teenager and made his debut as a replacement for Martin Shaw against Bath in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup at Kingston Park on 7^th March 1999, and his first league start came at the back end of the same month in a 50-odd point defeat at Northampton.

Tom did well enough though to force himself into the side for the 1999 Tetley's Bitter Cup Final at Twickenham, although he was subdued in the 29-19 defeat to Wasps. After a low-key 1999-2000, the Cockney was estsablished back in the Falcons' side for the 2001 Final against Harlequins. May's two tries set the scene for a flourishing finish and his first major honour in senior rugby. It was at this time that Tom also had a run in the England A team at inside centre.

Injuries and the arrival of Mark Mayerhofler in 2002 looked to have set Tom back in his career until he was started on the wing in a key victory against Leicester, and a new position was found for him.

With the Falcons surviving relegation, in 2003/04 Tom scored a huge 15 tries, including hat-tricks against Gloucester, Rotherham and VRAC Valladolid, and was part of the side which won the Powergen Cup against Sale, becoming the only Falcon to start all three of our professional cup finals.

Over the following few seasons May was a model of consistency, with his hard work and strength on the wing winning many plaudits amongst the Kingston Park faithful, and his kicking was also developed into a potent weapon when required, such as against Wasps in February 2005 when he kicked 19 points.

His versatility also led to numerous outings in the centre, and even time spent at scrum-half on occasion, before John Fletcher's belief in moving players around led to our former DoR picking May at full-back against Gloucester in the EDF Cup. Tom's pace and kicking seemed to make him feel at home there, and but for a knock-on on the floor with the line gaping, he would have won that Kingsholm match for the Falcons.

But it was in 2008/09 when Tom finally came out from being a consistent but underrated Falcon and took the team by the scruff of the neck to help drag it away from relegation. Having worn every shirt in the back five in the first half of the season, when Rory Clegg was replaced at home to Gloucester in January, May spent the second half at fly-half and kicked the crucial winning penalty.

His first start at ten was uninspiring against Brive, but Steve Bates put his faith in May at Bristol in February. A top performance of kicking, passing and running set May up for a glorious personal and team run in the second half of last season, including two superb solo tries against Northampton and Harlequins.

And so it was with disappointment that the fans reacted when rumours began that May could be joining Jonny Wilkinson at Toulon next year, and his departure has now been confirmed. However, after 277 appearances and 71 tries, and some top performances in whatever shirt he has worn, who can deny that Tom May deserves our understanding and best wishes after deciding his future lies away from Kingston Park.

He will always be welcome back in the future, and it would not be surprising to see him back in a coaching capacity some day. Hopefully when the Lions are back he can also maintain his well-deserved place in the England squad after his debut yesterday.

Thanks Tom, and all the best.

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