The End of an Era

It seeemd to come out of nowhere, but the announcement from Jonny Wilkinson that he has called time on his international rugby career appears to be as considered as the man himself.

I won't lie, I've never been a massive Wilkinson fan, quite the opposite on occasion.  For me he typified the style of rugby that England have always played since I started paying attention to rugby as a kid in the early 1990's.  In that time, England's style has always overrelied on a kicker, whether it be a Callard, a Grayson or an Andrew.  But it can't be denied that if that is the way you choose to play the game, he was the perfect fly-half for the system.  There's no doubt that Wilkinson has been the most consistent, efficient and successful of all in that period.

With a massive gap in his international career as a result of numerous injuries after the succesful 2003 World Cup campaign, there's no denying the enormous achievement to reach 91 England caps scoring 1179 points, with 6 Lion's caps and an additional 67 points.  His resolve and determination to constantly rebound from multiple injury disappointments is a true sign of his mental strength and passion for the game.

Clive Woodward built his team around Wilkinson and subsequent coaches have done similar. Is it any coincidence that Andy Robinson's relatively unsuccessful reign of England happened while Wilkinson was out of the international scene? I think not. For any player to have that kind of influence over the way a whole team is structured and plays for that length of time, no matter what you think of that approach to the game, is quite astonishing.

I'm not sure that Wilkinson would have scored as many points as he did if he played for a southern hemisphere side (compare his 7 international tries with the 29 Dan Carter has scored for the All Blacks before RWC 2011).  In a way, I think this is testament to a player who's ruthless efficiency in front of the posts has informed the way England have played over the last 13 years. 

A fine career for a fine player and by all accounts, a fine man.

Wilkinson - That career defining drop goal

Wilkinson's announcement is the latest of a series of events in English internaional rugby that seem to spell a change in direction in the way the English national team will play their rugby.

For all of their failings on and off the field at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, there were signs of the next generation of exciting players coming through such as Manu Tuilagi and Tom Wood with the slightly more established Foden, Lawes, Youngs and Ashton.  It's unfortunate that they played under Martin Johnson who's coaching mentality was understandably similar to his playing ethos - restrictive, direct and non-expansive.

Following the World Cup, many of those players who played alongside Johnson and most embodied his often bloodyminded and stubborn style of rugby while he was coach have retired - players like Lewis Moody and Simon Shaw have both called time on their England careers.

With these departures, a new coaching set up announced last week (headed by Stuart Lancaster who has overseen the progress of new young England prospects with the Saxons) and teams like Harlequins setting the pace in the Premiership with an exciting brand of rugby, will we start to see a more expansive England rugby team playing in the 6 Nations?

I hope so.