At that point, England had dominated proceedings in terms of territory and possession yet only had two penalties from Tom Homer to show for their efforts.
Mark Mapletoft's side were less certain in defence with Christian Wade, in particular, having problems looking into a low sun and struggling with kicks in his direction.
The home side duly took full advantage of England errors and pounced for two scores to earn a 14-6 lead and leave England scratching their heads in bewilderment and perhaps a touch of concern.
However, the England pack started to dominate and the backs were given better ball to work with.
May finished in style for his first score as he broke a tackle and then came inside off his left foot. His second showed great pace as he finished a searing break from Marcus Watson.
Argentina scored a superb third to get back into the game just before half time but England took a grip as the second half ticked by. May completed his hat trick, captain Jacob Rowan added a try after good work from the pack and Wade's pace resulted in a fifth to rub salt into Argentinian wounds.
May's Gloucester team mates also went well. Shaun Knight, sporting a fine Mohican, played the full 80 and did all that was expected of him.
Freddie Burns put in some superb long touchfinders but, frustratingly, had to move out of the fly half role and back to full back when Watson limped off injured forcing a reshuffle of the back line.
Job done for England but plenty to work on given the challenges that lie ahead.
