JONNY May’s scrummaging days may be over, but Mike Brown insists England’s puppy-dog wing can continue vanishing for toilet breaks during training if he keeps scoring.

May’s comical attempts to bind on to a scrum against Argentina is the latest quirky incident to have entertained his team-mates, while head coach Eddie Jones has said of the player from Chiseldon: “I’d love to spend one day inside his head, it would be absolutely fascinating”.

Brown knows that for all the eccentricities of the squad’s fastest player, Gloucester’s May remains a deadly finisher who has crossed twice in two appearances this autumn and is set to start against Australia at Twickenham in Saturday’s climax to the series.

“Jonny seems to disappear from training every now and then to go to the toilet,” Brown said.

“Eddie turns around and goes ‘where the effing hell has Jonny gone?’ And Jonny just trots back in like nothing’s going on. So Eddie’s like ‘what the hell are you doing?’.

“He’s like...what’s the best way to describe it...he’s like a puppy! He’s really enthusiastic, bounding around desperate to show his energy and go to the toilet!

“He has so much energy and enthusiasm, so we have to keep him on a tight leash sometimes. And give him direction - well that’s what I end up doing anyway.

“But he’s a brilliant player. With ball in hand, he can finish tries that others can’t. He’s electric running-wise. He also listens, which is a good thing!

“I don’t think he knows what’s going on half the time, so who knows what’s going on in his head? He’s an interesting character, one that I’ll probably never experience again.

“It’s great that you play in a sport with so many different characters, like Jonny. He can be frustrating at times, but he’s a good bloke to have around.”

Fourteen-man England needed May to join a scrum as an openside flanker in the final quarter of Saturday’s 27-14 defeat of Argentina.

Instead of taking his place in the back row, however, he placed his head between Mako Vunipola’s legs and then grabbed the loosehead prop’s knee and shin in his search for stability.

“Jonny’s days as a flanker are definitely numbered! He couldn’t have watched much rugby or scrums in a rugby game to bind the way he was binding. That’s just Jonny!” added Brown.