Jonny Wilkinson (born 25 May 1979 at Frimley in Surrey) is an English rugby union player and current Captain of the England Rugby Union team. He plays his club rugby for the Zurich Premiership side Newcastle Falcons.

He plays at fly half, and is particularly known for the accuracy of his kicking. His tackling, whilst also being of a high standard, is less noticed, owing to his tendency to kick whenever he has the ball in hand.

He has a reputation for an obsessive approach to training; in particular spending hours a day on goal-kicking practice. This has shown 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.

He was spotted by former England fly-half Rob Andrew and brought along with his family to live in Newcastle.

He made his England debut in 1998 at the age of 18. 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.

His rate of scoring suggests that, barring injury, Wilkinson should break the current (2004) international world record points tally of 1,052 (held by Neil Jenkins) by 2007. However, he has not played the game at international level since the 2003 World Cup final due to injury.

In 2003 he became the youngest ever Rugby Union player to receive a New Year's Honour with an MBE, and received an OBE in 2004.

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 shoulder injury, the captaincy being taken over by Jason Robinson. Despite making a return he injured his knee and is now doubtful for the 2005 Six Nations tournament.

England's reliance on Wilkinson is such that the team without him has been a shadow of its former self even if, without the predictable tactics used when he is playing of the forwards winning the ball in the line-out, scrum, ruck or maul and giving it to Wilkinson(characterised by one Rugby correspondent as "kick, kick, kick, kick, yawn"), England have played more attractive Rugby. Without Wilkinson, England were only able to finish third in the 2004 Six Nations (losing to Ireland and France) a mere four months after their world cup triumph, and they started their 2005 campaign with a defeat to a resurgent Welsh side.

Books

• My World by Jonny Wilkinson (ISBN 0747242763)

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