Wilko bashes Poms’ RWC campaign
8 Nov 2011
Jonny Wilkinson is the second senior England player to publicly criticize the team’s World Cup campaign.
Several weeks after England’s quarter-final exit at the World Cup, retired skipper Lewis Moody revealed in his book, Mad Dog: An Englishman, that the players were out of control during the tournament in New Zealand and deserved bans. Now veteran flyhalf Wilkinson has criticized his team-mates’ work ethic in his autobiography, Jonny, which was released on Monday.
‘I tell them I cannot believe that our defence coach has had to ask a group of players to buckle down,’ he wrote about the moments after their unconvincing win over Georgia during the pool stage. ‘There’s sometimes a lack of hunger on the field, a lack of desire to get things right.
‘The basics are working yourself into the ground, and the only reason you don’t work hard enough is that it doesn’t matter enough to you. What that ultimately means is that the other 29 guys in this squad don’t matter enough to you.’
The 32-year-old also blamed the World Cup ball for his poor goal kicking during England’s campaign.
‘Being unable to rely on my goal kicking makes performing physically and mentally draining. The organisers can claim that all the balls are the same, but they are not. It’s a joke.’
13 Comments
8 Nov 2011, 10:14 am
Every Joe and his dog writes a book these days…
8 Nov 2011, 10:23 am
@ wooden spoon .1 And publish it in the month leading up to Christmas.
8 Nov 2011, 13:36 pm
this can’t be his first…kevin p3n1sen has had about 6 already
8 Nov 2011, 19:08 pm
I agree not all rugby balls are the same for goalkicking, but i always remember Diego Dominguez when Italy played being brilliant at kicking with both the mitre and the gilbert balls. Wilkinson used the same ball as the opposition so technically its evens. wilkinsons goal kicking in the last 4 years overall has been poor anyway he should have retired after the 2007 world cup at least going out on a high with a game in the final. Regarding bad behaviour thats what happens when players get it into their heads that they are commodities!
9 Nov 2011, 03:27 am
Morne Steyn said the balls were fine. England should have had their points from the Georgia match deducted for illegally putting non world cup balls on the field. Wilko is just another whining pom.
Instead the IRB decide to fine France for opposing the haka and players for having branding on their mouth guards.
9 Nov 2011, 03:34 am
@daydreamer(daydreamer)-5:
Morne Steyn missed two penalties that would have seen the Boks into the 1/4′s?
9 Nov 2011, 05:13 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-6:
bull
those
were not
ms kicks
at all
he just
attempted
them
9 Nov 2011, 05:16 am
@Porra the Fat and Clever Speedster(Porra)-7:
If the
other steyn
in other
words
fs
was there
ms
wouldn’t have
touched the
ball
9 Nov 2011, 07:08 am
Its funny that little Johnny is the only kicker who complained about the balls. IF Frans Steyn can kick it over from 64 and 60 meters. Imagine if the balls “are perfect” the way Johnny wants it, how far Steyn can kick it then??
Little Johnny can go and cry somewhere else if he cant kick with the same balls.
9 Nov 2011, 07:18 am
@Chris4Lions(Chris4Lions)-9:
I think Johhny hadnt visited the local pub for practice when this interview was done.
So he was a bit angry someone got in the way of his first pint.
9 Nov 2011, 07:30 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-6: But did you hear him blaming the ball?
9 Nov 2011, 07:39 am
The Kiwis didn’t want teams to be able to kick their goals, because it would give them a better chance of winning the world cup FACT.
9 Nov 2011, 10:43 am
UK red label press reporting…
Wilkinson actually said, the balls that were used inn training were completely different to the ones that were used on match day. The Argentine kicker missed 21 points,against England. The standard of goal kicking in the RWC was P**s poor and with the exception of Weepu, Wilko, ROG, O’Connor,et al,had a shocker.
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