Jonny Wilkinson will retire next month gripped by fear as he contemplates finding what he describes as a “proper job” having spent every day since leaving school 17 years ago as a professional rugby player.
The English game’s most celebrated player confirmed that Toulon’s Top 14 final against Castres next week, six days after his 35th birthday, would be his last match.
The 97-cap outhalf will go out on an appropriate high with the Heineken Cup holders facing Saracens in this season’s final at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday. “It is something I have thought about all year, and now seemed the right time to stop. It is a weight off my shoulders, and I can now pay attention to the two finals.
“There is always a huge amount of fear when anyone goes into an area they are not accustomed to. I have played rugby professionally since I left school, and I have never had a proper job. It leaves me a bit unprepared for what comes next, but I see that as a positive.”
Asked if he would like a role with England in the future, he replied: "I am not a person to say never. I want to help others get better, and to do so from a coaching perspective would be wonderful."
Drop goal
The outhalf, most famous for winning the 2003 World Cup for England with a dramatic drop goal against Australia, made the retirement announcement on the Toulon website. He has long been expected to call time on his playing days.
“I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce my retirement from playing rugby,” he said. “It goes without saying that I have an enormous number of people to thank for their support from all around the world but especially here in France and in England.
“This, however, is not at all the time to be concentrating on this as I would like to focus all my attention and energy on the team and these final two games of the season.
“I sincerely thank you all for everything you have given me and for making these last 17 years something I will never forget.”
Wilkinson retires as one of just five men to score 1,000 points in international rugby, with his 1,246 second only to New Zealand great Dan Carter.
Carter said this year that Wilkinson should go down as one the best players of all time.
“If I was thinking about the best rugby players of all time he would be up there,” Carter said. “He’s the ultimate professional, probably works harder than any other player in the world, and he deserves all the accolades, rewards and success he’s had throughout his career.”
Wilkinson made his debut for Newcastle in 1997, and stayed with them until 2009, winning the Tetleys Bitter Cup twice. It was during his days with the Falcons that he came to the attention of then-England coach Sir Clive Woodward. The duo would become central to the achievements of England, and they enjoyed unparalleled success together.
Wilkinson made his debut as an 18-year-old and, after a chastening experience on the “Tour of Hell” to Australia, he won the 2000, 2001 and 2003 Six Nations, with those successes leading to Wilkinson’s signature moment at the 2003 World Cup.
His metronomic boot kicked England to the final and then, against hosts Australia, he landed the most valuable three points of his life with a minute of extra-time left, earning his country a 20-17 victory. He ended the tournament having scored 113 points.
Injuries would set in after that, and he was never able to be as dominant a force as he once was in the national shirt. Yet he still played a key role in taking England to the 2007 World Cup final, while he won the Six Nations in 2011.
New career
He retired from international rugby with 91 caps in December 2011, by which point he was already making a new career for himself in France.
Well-known as a perfectionist, Wilkinson took his distinctive kicking style to Toulon in 2009, and immediately became the fulcrum of their side.
He won the Heineken Cup last season after kicking all of his team's 24 points to beat Saracens in the semi-final. A similar feat against the same opponents this weekend would see Wilkinson secure back-to-back victories in the competition. –
Guardian Services
