He'll do it again...
Jonny Wilkinson’s return to the Test arena has sparked mass debate on whether the Rugby World Cup winning fly-half is back to his form of old. But it’s not a case of him ‘deserving’ to be there, but more the case of him belonging there!
Yes is the answer to the two questions everyone have asked since Wilkinson drop-kicked his country to a world cup victory on November 20, 2003: is he still built for international rugby? If so, is he still as good as he was before?
It’s a fact that Wilkinson had not played a game of rugby in the England jersey before the opening Six Nations match against Scotland on February 3, since the world cup final in Australia. However, the saying ‘a leopard never changes its spots’ is pretty spot-on with the England pivot’s comeback.
The proof was in the pudding when Wilkinson made the headlines for yet another man-of-the-match performance in the white jersey against the Scots. It must have seemed like a bad case of deja-vu as the newspaper headlines once again sung the fly-half’s praises for a game well played. Who could argue Wilkinson’s selection in the England line-up after contributing a personal tally of 27 points, a Calcutta Cup record.
The 27-year-old earned himself a full house of scores at Twickenham that day, a feat that has now been achieved three times by the England star. The first being against Wales in 2002, and then again against New Zealand in the same year – only Rob Andrew and Paul Grayson have once managed the same achievement.
The fact that Wilkinson could bag a drop-goal, a penalty, a conversion and a try all in one game seven years ago and still manage it today just proves the magician hasn’t lost his touch.
Wilkinson proved to his critics that his Scotland comeback wasn’t a fluke as he followed that performance up with yet another match-winner against Italy a week later – coming to England’s rescue by booting fifteen points. The England pivot also stamped his authority in the record books that day when he passed Neil Jenkins’ total of 406 points, becoming the highest point-scorer in history.
Of course many will argue that these records achieved by Wilkinson were against teams lying nine (Scotland) and twelve (Italy) in the International Rugby Board (IRB) rankings. But bear in mind that England are only ranked seven in the world standings, so to take away a stand-out performance because of a team ranking seems ridiculously unfair. Whether it be against a team ranked one or twelve, a record is a record – and Wilkinson stepped up to the plate to take them.
All this did was remind us of what the Newcastle star has to offer – a blind-spot that Wilkinson critics suffer from.
Wilkinson holds a natural talent that has held the key to England’s success since making his debut nine years ago. He has been a thorn in all his opponents’ sides, domestic and international, with his prolific boot and vision for the game. His inexhaustible commitment to any team he plays for – be it England, Newcastle or the Lions – is priceless.
It is for this reason that new England coach Brian Ashton gave Wilkinson a call-up to his squad. Some might say it was Ashton doing Wilkinson a favour – while others could argue it was the other way around. Ashton needed a song and a prayer to help his England cause, and Wilkinson answered.
Wilkinson has got England out of trouble single-handedly in the past and after just 48 minutes of club rugby with the Falcons, he’s proved he can do it again. So the whole argument of him not having enough game time was already put to rest as the number 10 kept up, and in most cases, stood above the rest in the last two Tests.
While he has suffered his plague of injuries more like it, there have been opportunities for a host of other fly-halves to cement their name into the England XV in Wilkinson’s absence. But lets be honest, as talented as Charlie Hodgson, Olly Barkley or Andy Goode may be – none of them came anywhere near to filling Wilkinson’s shoes.
If England wish to break away from the shackles of inconsistency and build a team that can take on the world come the 2007 World Cup in France, then Wilkinson is the player to take them there.
He’s done it before, and he can do it again.
By Tighthead Terry
