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On Jonny Wilkinson's international retirement
Jonny Wilkinson, the man whose wrong foot half-volloyed England to a Rugby World Cup, has announced that he will not be pulling on his nation's shirt again. He will instead focus his efforts in the red and black of his French team, Toulon, who will now reap the full benefit of his attitude and solid and competent game management.
Many may see the last sentence above as some kind of sarcastic barb, or damning with faint praise, but it's not - Wilkinson was and is a very good fly-half. Not many can claim to be a record breaker and an era definer - which he was in terms of the new muscularity he brought to the 10 channel.
He did not have the obscene talent of a Mark Ella, or the balletic skills of a Phil Bennett, or the unpredictability of a Carlos Spencer. But, what he did have was the skills to be a top international 10, and more importantly the temperament to execute them when it most mattered.
One-dimensional is an assessment often applied to him, which is probably a fair assessment in the latter stages of his career. But, that is to forget that he was the pivot during 2001 - 2003, the most creative period in English rugby history. England may have had brain-farts in Grand Slam deciders, but up to that point in those Championships they vapourised all of Europe with their try-scoring verve,and beat every team in the world, home and away. Don't just take my word for it; 28 tries scored in the 2001 Six Nations, 23 in 2002, 18 in 2003 - the numbers speak for themselves. Admittedly, England's pack were monstrous at that time, but Wilkinson's ability was at the heart of crafting the possession into comprehensive wins, as shown in the above video. The try that he scores is wonderfully worked, but his interventions in the build up to it were just as impressive.
The disappointment for England fans is that he never pushed on with that expansive game to make it his trademark. Why didn't he? Probably a combination of factors, not least his absence from the game for so long due to injury, and on his return England as a team were a bloddy shambles. A very different proposition to marshall compared to that golden period in the early noughties.
He should be remembered as a decent international player and, maybe more importantly, a decent man. Most of the rugby world wish him well.
England now look to a future without Jonny Wilkinson, but in the current context of change at Twickenham his retirement looks to be as well timed as that last minute strike in Sydney eight years ago.
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December 15, 2011 in England, Six Nations | Permalink
