Sweat the key in the pursuit of a perfect 10

It's Christmas Day, the family has just finished the festive dinner, and the father watches his son head for the door. "Where are you going," he inquires.

"Out."

"But it's Christmas Day, where could you be going?"

"I'm off to practice my kicking."

Jonny Wilkinson authenticates the story. He was that soldier. His professionalism, dedication, his total immersion in the sport is a little disconcerting in a player not long past his 22nd birthday. Face to face, Wilkinson is an earnest, articulate, polite young man who eschews the normal bland soundbites offered by sportsmen and women. He pauses to consider every question and the answer generally runs to several pages of foolscap. Not that he gives too much away, but buried in the landslide of words are a few nuggets.

His life is rugby. It comes across forcibly in conversation. He has given himself to the sport since the day he started working with Dave Alred, the famed kicking coach, as a 16-year-old: two sessions a week, sometimes more, for six years. He makes no apologies for his work ethic and if that makes him seem a little dull or boring to others, then so be it.

"It's a personal thing. It's not something that gives me a right to say that I am better than someone else just because I practise more. People are different. Some would find their performance dropping if they practised more. You have to judge your own preparation.

"For my confidence, I like to get out there and do what I can to develop and get better, and from my point of view I need to spend a lot of time out there, pushing myself to the limit in terms of what I can do.

"I want to develop and be the best I can. You have to weigh that up against not getting too tired, not causing an injury, and being prepared and in peak physical condition at the weekends. At some stage in your career, be it the end, the middle or right at the beginning, you want to be the best in the world in your position. It won't just happen by standing still and accepting a certain level of competence."

Ireland's Ronan O'Gara toured with the Lions in Australia and spent large chunks of time alongside Wilkinson on the practice ground. "He has serious dedication to the game," says O'Gara. "He is constantly seeking to improve. He's serious but pleasant and proves that nice guys do win. His kicking off either foot is quite spectacular.

"I would say, not in a critical way, that he doesn't have the natural talent of a Brian O'Driscoll, but he works so hard on his game. He is one of, if not the world's best outhalf at present. A lot of his success is down to his professionalism and his attitude and dedication to work. He can't spend long enough on the pitch."

The fruits of his labour are staggering. Four months past his 22nd birthday, Wilkinson has already overhauled Rob Andrew's mark (396 points) as the leading points scorer in the history of English rugby: in just 27 caps he has amassed 407 test points.

He made his senior England debut against Ireland as an 18-year-old. His first start in an England jersey was hardly auspicious - he was a member of the ill-fated tour to the Southern Hemisphere that saw England lose 76-0 in a Test against Australia - but he has more than made up for it since.

He has been the pivot for England and, during the summer, for the Lions. Today at Lansdowne Road, any Irish mistake is almost certain to be punished by his boot.

He is something of a rarity for a Northern Hemisphere outhalf, a punishing tackler. The only gripe would be that his game is more manufactured than natural, automaton-like in his adherence to a game-plan.

He disputes that assertion. "I know immediately whether I have done something right or wrong. You go out with one idea that you think will be fantastic and suddenly it doesn't work. You have to be adaptable, your game must evolve even within the 80 minutes. If you're barking up the wrong tree, then you have to change rather than persevere with something that doesn't work."

Wilkinson regards the England Schools' unbeaten tour to Australia in 1997 as the beginning of his senior career. "Yeah, it was the start of the senior career. I learnt a great deal in terms of dealing with talented opposition and hostile crowds a long way from home. As a schoolboy it taught me an early lesson about pressure. I was grateful to draw on that experience when I moved straight into senior rugby with Newcastle. If I hadn't had that it would have taken me a lot longer to break through."

Rob Andrew, Newcastle's director of rugby, has been a major influence, the former England outhalf winding down his playing career in the centre to accommodate Wilkinson. The prodigy has matured quickly, as evidenced by his temperament.

"There is no point, especially in the position I play in, going out there with a red mist. You have to be fired up physically but mentally composed. I like to give reassurance and have reassurance coming back, and make sure everyone is on the same wavelength."

He is looking forward to today's game. "I've been there (Lansdowne) before once, playing in the centre two years ago. I enjoyed the match. It's a very intense atmosphere, the crowd is very close, very passionate, very loud. It is quite an open ground which leads to some interesting tactical changes. It's going to be very fiery. Ireland found the form against Wales that they showed in the spring. They scored 36 points away from home, which is outstanding, and are clearly peaking at the right time and you have to have admiration and respect for the way that they are playing."

He believes that England will have to closely monitor two of his Lions team-mates, Brian O'Driscoll and Keith Wood. "They are very talented, very unique players. They are game-breakers: they can perform the basics very well but given half a chance can transform a match."

Wilkinson is adamant that he has learned from the disappointment of the Lions and developed his game further. "There are key points in any matches and you strive to make good decisions at crucial times. That wins matches and that's the ongoing lesson that I am trying to learn. We didn't do it in those (second and third Tests) matches, but when the chance arises in another I want to be able to recognise it and take it."

Although his career is only in its adolescence, Wilkinson has no doubts as to how he would like to be remembered. "The players I look up to are those who can do something special and turn games consistently. That's the way I'd like to be, someone whose name was synonymous with winning. If you play with guys like Martin Johnson or John Eales, that feeling of playing with a winner is infectious. I would like to be that kind of person."

It won't be a lack of perspiration that undermines his quest.