Jonny Wilkinson

Jonathan Peter Wilkinson OBE (born 25 May 1979 at Frimley in Surrey) is an English rugby union player, who has captained the England Rugby Union team. He plays his club rugby in the Guinness Premiership for Newcastle Falcons.

Related Topics:
OBE - 25 May - 1979 - Frimley - Surrey - English - Rugby union - England Rugby Union team - Guinness Premiership - Newcastle Falcons

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Jonny was educated at Pierrepont in Frensham and Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire. Having started playing as a four year old at Farnham RFC, he was talent scouted by his school rugby coach, the Falcons coach Steve Bates. Upon leaving school in the summer of 1997 he deferred his studies at Durham University for a year to try full-time rugby union. His first season was a sufficient success that his studies remain on-hold eight years later.

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Though he is probably the world's most famous fly-half, he started his career as an inside centre competing for a place with international veterans such as Inga Tuigamala and British Lion Alan Tait. In a star-studded team which ultimately went on to lift the 1997/8 Premiership title, he became a firm fixture in the side.

Related Topics:
Fly-half - Inside centre - Inga Tuigamala - Alan Tait

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Such was his amazingly rapid rise to prominence that by March of 1998 he was in the full England Test squad, being an unused replacement against Scotland before making his debut from the bench against Ireland at Twickenham on April 4 of that year aged 18.

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England?s disastrous ?Tour to Hell? in 1998 saw them demolished in both Australia and New Zealand, but Wilkinson emerged stronger from the experience, returning to domestic duties and taking over from director of rugby, Rob Andrew, as both fly-half and goal kicker for the Falcons.

Related Topics:
Rob Andrew - Fly-half

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Now a firm fixture in the England team, he played for the Falcons in their 1999 Tetley?s Bitter Cup final defeat to London Wasps, before making his World Cup debut in 1999. Controversially dropped by Clive Woodward for the quarter final against South Africa, England were to fall in the last eight in his absence. He toured South Africa with England in 2000, kicking all of the points in their 27-22 win in Bloemfontein.

Related Topics:
London Wasps - Clive Woodward

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Early in his career he set an individual Six Nations points scoring record with his 35 points against Italy at Twickenham in 2001, to overtake the record of his Newcastle Falcons mentor, Rob Andrew. He scored all 15 points as England beat New Zealand 15-13 in Wellington 2003 and was a major factor in their 25-14 win over Australia a week later. By the end of 2003 he had scored 817 points (more than twice as many as any other England player) in 52 matches for his country.

Related Topics:
Newcastle Falcons - Rob Andrew

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While England honours continued to come, in 2001 Wilkinson helped the Falcons to the 2001 Tetley?s Bitter Cup at Twickenham, where a late try saw off Harlequins. Wilkinson was the first choice fly-half for the 2001 Lions tour to Australia where he equalled the Lions best individual total in a Test, with 18. He was blamed by many for throwing a long pass inside his 22 that was intercepted by Joe Roff which was seen as the turning point in the second test.

Related Topics:
Fly-half - Joe Roff

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He has a reputation for an obsessive approach to training; in particular spending hours a day on goal-kicking practice even while at school. This has paid some dividends; in 2003 he kicked the winning drop goal in the last minute of extra time of the final of the Rugby World Cup against Australia, and soon after was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Wilkinson was also named the 2003 IRB World Player of the Year. In the same year he became the youngest ever Rugby Union player to receive a New Year's Honour with an MBE, and received an OBE in 2004.

Related Topics:
2003 - Drop goal - Rugby World Cup - Australia - BBC Sports Personality of the Year - MBE

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His rate of scoring suggests that, barring further injuries, Wilkinson should break the current (2004) international world record points tally of 1,052 (held by Neil Jenkins) by 2007. However, due to a series of injuries, he did not play a single international game between the 2003 World Cup final and the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand.

Related Topics:
2004 - Neil Jenkins - 2007 - 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand

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Within a couple of weeks of winning the World Cup he was found to have had a broken facet in his shoulder and missed the 2004 Six Nations and the disastrous tour of New Zealand and Australia. Wilkinson was named Captain of the England team on 4 October 2004, replacing Lawrence Dallaglio who had resigned five weeks earlier. However, he was kept out of the 2004 autumn internationals by a haematoma in his upper right arm, the captaincy being taken over by Jason Robinson and then Martin Corry. In January 2005 he injured his medial knee ligament in a match against Perpignan. He missed the opening matches of the 2005 Six Nations Championship and on his return to Newcastle on 13 March 2005 he injured the same knee again.

Related Topics:
Shoulder - New Zealand - Australia - 4 October - 2004 - Lawrence Dallaglio - Haematoma - Jason Robinson - Martin Corry - Perpignan - 2005 Six Nations Championship - 13 March - 2005

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In almost 18 months, he has played a total of only 938 minutes of competitive rugby union, but was nonetheless given a chance to prove his fitness for the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand. He did so and was called up to the Lions on 8 May. Wilkinson made his first international appearance since the 2003 World Cup final on 23 May at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as the Lions played Argentina. One of the few bright spots for the Lions was Wilkinson, who kicked a conversion and six penalties, salvaging a 25-25 draw with the last kick of the game.

Related Topics:
8 May - 23 May - Millennium Stadium - Cardiff - Argentina

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He made his first full international appearance since the 2003 World Cup in the Lions' first Test against New Zealand, starting at inside centre instead of his normal fly-half position. Wilkinson scored the Lions' only points in their comprehensive 21-3 defeat. In the second Test, another heavy loss, he started in his normal role of number 10, but suffered a stinger injury that leaves him currently injured. Critics and pundits have been forced, of late, to ask whether Wilkinson will ever regain the form and confidence he possessed before his numerous injury setbacks.

Related Topics:
New Zealand - Inside centre - Fly-half - Stinger injury

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