Wilkinson quits Test rugby
12 Dec 2011
England’s World Cup-winning flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson has retired from international rugby.
The 32 year old released a statement on his official website on Monday night. Wilkinson believes he has gone as far as he can with this England team, and so has decided to call time on his illustrious career.
‘I never ever believed that I would be able to give up on this dream which has driven me to live, breathe, love and embrace the game of rugby from the earliest days that I can remember.
‘The time has come, however, for me to realise that I have gone as far as I can go with this England team and that the time is right for others to enjoy the same honour and pride that I have felt over the past 15 seasons and beyond.’
Wilkinson played 91 Tests for England and scored 1 179 points (1246 points in 97 Tests including games for the British & Irish Lions), featuring in four World Cup campaigns. While the most recent of those tournaments ended in disappointment, Wilkinson will be remembered as the man who kicked the extra-time drop goal to win the 2003 World Cup final against Australia.
World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward paid tribute to the England great.
‘Jonny was special and he scared the opposition. Everyone has to pat him on the back. The way he defended and attacked, he was a very special player,’ said Woodward. ‘All of us involved in that team [in 2003] just felt very lucky and privileged to have had him around at that time.
‘I’d just like to say well done to him. He has done so much for not just English rugby but also world rugby on the field, and especially off the field.’
While he has retired from international rugby, Wilkinson will continue to play for Toulon in France.
83 Comments
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13 Dec 2011, 08:32 am
@XV-6:
same sentence..?..
morne steyn is better than jonny wilkinson…
there… i just did…
13 Dec 2011, 09:09 am
I see they’re writing in overseas papers that Wilkinson is the greatest player in the world… ever.
Okay. That’s a bit strange. He was good player who was part of a great team from 2001-2003. Since then he showed he is pretty much mediocre when playing in a less than great team… that when he’s not injured… which was rare.
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-51: One dimensional Morné? ROFL!
13 Dec 2011, 09:13 am
But good decision from Wilkinson and all the best. Now he should take the next step and retire from playing rugby altogether. He should have given up after 2003 when his serious injuries started.
Perhaps if he did retire at that age, because of serious injuries, he could have been considered the best player ever… but he didn’t and he messed up his reputation since then.
13 Dec 2011, 09:29 am
Had a good spell and at that time was the best in the game.
Well played son!
13 Dec 2011, 10:01 am
Look he’s only good if he is allowed to swop balls at any point he likes…..Which balls? huh wait im confused
13 Dec 2011, 10:09 am
@man1a-18:
Misfortune of being English?
Wilko played behind one of the greatest forward packs ever to play the game in 2003.
He was quite privileged.
@man1a-28: In his prime, Naas was one of the best running 10s ever to play the game.
13 Dec 2011, 10:13 am
@Bouts-52: Yes that is a big call.
But…
He achieved one the greatest ultimate individual prizes possible in rugby – kicking a winning drop-goal in the last minute of a WC final…with his wrong foot.
The type of utopian fairytale that not even a 13-year old flyhalf could dream about.
13 Dec 2011, 10:36 am
@Bouts-52:
By Overseas Papers……………………………………………………I take it, you mean the English Gutter Press?
Jonny was good. Extremely good at his best and in full fitness.
But in the pro-era, he would rank behind Steven Larkhan and Danial Carter.
13 Dec 2011, 10:38 am
@willievz-57: Johnny and Joel.
2 peas in a pod.
13 Dec 2011, 12:16 pm
Johnny had courage and a big heart and performed under extreme pressure when it mattered (manufactured or not dont matter – plenty of unrewarded genius and all that) what more can u ask and Martin Johnson holds him in the highest regard. Steve Larkham a mercurial genius and kicked if my memory serves me right the drop goal to beat the boks in that world cup semi final (effectively the final) always produced under pressure. Dan Carter has not yet produced under pressure- showpony, skants clotheshorse
13 Dec 2011, 12:44 pm
The greatest, most complete #10 Ive ever seen. Pound for Pound a devastating tackler, brilliant boot, great attacker and a true sportsman.
I would probably still choose Die Lem in my all-time 15 (being biased) but Wilkinson was The Man!
13 Dec 2011, 13:03 pm
Thanks for many enjoyable games, Jonny, and best wishes for the future.
A great player.
13 Dec 2011, 13:23 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-51: what a clever little boy you are!
13 Dec 2011, 13:51 pm
@stormersboy-59: Joel’s drop is probably more famous but he did it with a few minutes left on the clock.
Johnny did it bang on the end, with his wrong foot.
13 Dec 2011, 14:39 pm
@XV-63:
no, not really.
it was an easy one…
13 Dec 2011, 16:44 pm
Bouts – Retire after 2003? If i remember correctly Wilko got England to the final again in 2007 and pushed the Boks all the way. Infact England are the only team to ever get back to back RWC final appearances!! Wilko at 2007 was menacing, destroyed the Wallabies by himself!!
13 Dec 2011, 16:45 pm
bokfan1 – I agree. Wilko is way a harder defender than Dan Carter, similar to Honnibal!!
13 Dec 2011, 20:58 pm
tribute to the man
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/6134685/Marshall-lauds-career-of-retired-Jonny-Wilkinson
“Wilkinson, who will continue to play for Toulon in France, played the All Blacks five times from 1998 to 2009 with two losses and three wins”
who can say they have 60% winning record vs the AB’s?
13 Dec 2011, 22:05 pm
@willievz-56: ok i retract what i said bout Naas. I’d only seen him play a couple games and he didnt pass a hell of a lot in those games. looked at some clips and read up up about him in wiki and he was the complete package all round athelete. shame SA was allowed back in the international fold at the end of his career.
my comment about wilko having the “Misfortune of being English?” was in relation to his consistency and outside of 2003 had he been playing for a more consistent team he would’ve had a more illustrious career. England 2002-2003 were the team to beat and england would be hard pressed to build another team with so many top players who actually played and thought as team and sync’d and complimented each other so well
13 Dec 2011, 23:05 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-65: easy if you dont know your rugby. Morne could not even tie Wilkinson’s bootlaces.
13 Dec 2011, 23:13 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-65:
h t t p ://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/16152524.stm
14 Dec 2011, 00:18 am
@bokfan1-61: I struggle to find a Bok 1st five worthy of a place in a top 10 list let alone top 5
dreamer
14 Dec 2011, 00:37 am
Honiball and Ian Mac potential worldbeaters but for the politics. Tragic Ian Mac was so under appreciated at the time happens to those who are too far ahead of the rest couple of blind spots but possibly the best springbok coach
14 Dec 2011, 07:12 am
Wilko is the greatest RWC flyhalf of all time by some distance IMO
14 Dec 2011, 08:49 am
@XV-70:
Although i agree to a point, Morne is probably at this stage a more realible kicker than Wilkinson and has been for a while.
Isnt Morne the highest single points scorer against the ABs?
If that is the case then that is a huge feat that Wilkinson never got close to.
@Bok fan-74:
lol
Thats only about 12 games he played at the RWC in his career.
14 Dec 2011, 10:52 am
@man1a-68: Not Jonny that stat was wrong and has now been corrected on Stuff. He played the ABs 5 times for England for 3 losses 2 wins and twice for the Lions for 2 losses making 7 attempts for 2 wins, a 28% win record which is about right.
14 Dec 2011, 11:05 am
Great career from a true role model for our kids. Fine boot and great tackler who shone in 2002-3. Played tests from I think the age of 18 so when he broke down after the 03 cup it was perhaps no wonder.
I struggle to consider him an attacking 10 though, and his 7 tries from 97 matches attests to that. Carter by comparison has 29 tries from 85 outings and a higher points total in all. Jonny’s 36 drop goals are a blight on his career, and if they were worth the single game breaking point they should be he would still have a RCW medal but would have 100 less points and who knows how many less wins.
Not to take anything away from the guy but he is daylight from the best ever 10 Carter who’s game is equal on defence, 50% better on attack and marginally weaker on kicking percentage (although I’d love to see a stat I could believe on the latter).
14 Dec 2011, 12:01 pm
@race of tan-66: Get real! Generally the Poms are over-rated, but he is the worst of them all! Can’t mention him in the same catagory as Dan Carter, doesn’t have half the skill or tallent. At least his retirement will give the English something new to moan about. If there was a World Cup for overestimation-of-own-skill England will win it every time!
14 Dec 2011, 20:50 pm
Jonny will go down as one of the greatest flyhalves to have played the game.
If it wasn’t for the lack of professionalism by his own team mates at the WC, he might have had another 6 Nations in him.
15 Dec 2011, 10:36 am
A true dedicated professional. All world players respected him. Will be remebered as the outstanding player he was. Thanks for gracing the scene Jonny.
15 Dec 2011, 11:08 am
The most professional rugby player to ever play the game.
Worked tirelessly to make his weaknesses his srengths. As a goalkicker he had to no match. But he is NOT the best 10 in the pro era. Wilko had about 3 years as the PREMIER 10 in world rugby (2001,2002,2003)…He was sublime then but the next 8 or so years he was a pale shadow of the giant that kicked the drop goal to win RWC 2003. Had a flicker in 2007 WC even though highly diluted below his best-all grit,all heart.
Dan Carter has been the best 10 i World rugby for the best part of 6-7 years since his demolition job vs Lions in 2005.Has the ENTIRE skills set with EASE,top points scorer in the game…still has a few years yet.
In my humble opinion: In pro era
Best kicking 10-Wilko
Best attacking 10-Larkham
Best defensive 10-Henry Honiball
Best ALLROUND Skillset 10-Dan Carter
15 Dec 2011, 11:09 am
Most natural gifted 10-Carlos Spencer
15 Dec 2011, 17:39 pm
Wilkinson was great and i agree he was very unlucky with injuries throughout his career. Id say Englands success in the 2000-2003 era was also largely in part because of 2 very ordinary NZ and Aus teams being around and what must rank as the worst period for Springbok rugby ever. carter is a great attacker but has benefited from having more talented backs around him, he is about equal as a goalkicker – now, but Wilkinson when he started was a better kicker. Great tackler as well but maybe thats why he suffered so many injuries. As for goalkicking prowess for me the main man was Italys Dominguez, the man was a kicking machine. He could boot a sh@tty mitre plastic ball from55 metres and from any angle, he is the man responsible for where the Italians are today as he and maybe 2-3 others dragged Italy into the top 10. stick Dominguez into either NZ or the Boks and he would have had about 300-400 more points from the tests he played as a kicker he has had no equal!
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