Wilkinson: I need a big game
England star Jonny Wilkinson will retain one of his great rugby mantras when he runs out at Stade de France tomorrow night – doing the shirt justice.
Wilkinson might have 67 caps, more than 1,000 England points and find himself one successful kick away from setting a new world record, but he has never taken selection for granted.
England head coach Brian Ashton believes the French clash is “a big, big game” for certain unnamed individuals following stuttering displays against Wales and Italy.
Only Ashton knows whether Wilkinson is on his hit-list, yet he will not find complacency lurking anywhere near the Newcastle points machine’s vicinity.
Wilkinson said: “I consider myself to be one of those players who needs a big game, and have done so for the last 67 games.
“If I didn’t feel that way, then the only saving grace would have been that I’d have slept better on Friday nights and maybe had not so much pain leading up to the games.
“No game is about trying to hold on to your shirt. It’s about doing the shirt justice for those guys you are playing alongside.
“These games are not big because you are trying to hold on to your shirt, these games are big because you care hugely about the rest of the guys you are playing with and your input and contribution towards that goal.
“There is no real reward in running out in a white shirt unless you are going to go there and show who it is who’s wearing it.
“Those shirts deserve to be on people who are doing it justice, and that’s what you want to do.”
Wilkinson has proved a nemesis for Les Bleus, kicking them out of the last two World Cup semi-finals and inspiring England’s most recent Six Nations victory in Paris – a 15-9 success eight years ago.
He also arrives this weekend needing just 34 points to equal Welshman Neil Jenkins’ world Test points record of 1090, and one drop-goal to set a new world best of 29, a record he currently shares with Hugo Porta.
But Wilkinson added: “You realise that after playing this game professionally for 11 years, what’s gone has definitely gone.
“You wake up on any match-day morning and it really is a blank canvas, and what you do on that day is the picture you paint on it.
“You can try and bring stuff with you from the past, but to be honest, it holds no real water.
“It’s a new start every time, and I do think we are building towards something.
“We were all eventually in tune with each other at the World Cup. We’ve got to get there again, and I’m excited about the direction in which the game is heading and in which we’re heading.”
For Wilkinson and England, the challenge tomorrow is stopping at source a French side bursting with attacking philosophies under their ambitious new coach Marc Lievremont.
Wilkinson though, has played against France 10 times in England colours, and he maintains nothing changes.
He said: “Playing against the French there is an always an experience of the unknown.
“They are the team that is capable of doing things that don’t make sense on a rugby field, things you can’t explain.
“Anyone who has been on a rugby pitch against French sides knows there could be surges and passages of energy and pace that you cannot ascertain where it has come from.
“You can be on the opposition 22 thinking everything is great, then all of a sudden you are behind your posts wondering where the hell the last 10 seconds just went.
“This French team looks very much in tune with each other. They seem to have that ethos about the way they want to take the game forward, which is fabulous for rugby.
“These guys that might be lesser known are guys that seem to fit the bill perfectly, players France will be looking to lead them for many years.
“For us, there is a real need to be hugely aware of the fact that heads must be up. You cannot afford to switch off for that second, you cannot afford to take breaks during play.
“You can be miles away from the ball and nothing is really happening, and suddenly, somehow, they exploit you, whether it takes two phases or whatever. There is no respite.
“The enjoyment from watching them play is seeing individuals flourish. They seem to have dropped the shackles and there is a lot of self-expression.
“They just seem to enjoying it, which is pretty inspirational stuff, and great for us as players to prepare against.”
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