England hero Jonny Wilkinson calls time on career
Fly-half will bow out after Toulon’s European Cup and French Top 14 finals
England Rugby World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson announced on Monday that he will retire at the end of the season after Toulon’s European Cup and French Top 14 finals.
“I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce my retirement from playing rugby,” the 34-year-old said in a statement on his club’s website.
“I have an enormous number of people to thank for their support from all around the world but especially here in France and in England,” Wilkinson said,
He was as big as David Beckham. He put rugby on the map, he won a World Cup for England. He’s such an incredibly humble guy and so professional
“This however is not at all the time to be concentrating on this as I would like to focus all my attention and energy on the team and these final two games of the season.”
The fly half, most famous for winning the 2003 World Cup for England with an extra-time drop goal against Australia, only ever played for two clubs during his 17-year long career, joining big-spending Toulon from Newcastle in 2009
He played an integral part in Toulon’s rise to the pinnacle of French rugby, but with his 35th birthday fast approaching, his retirement at the end of the season had been widely expected.
Wilkinson won 91 caps for England, and played in a second World Cup final in 2007 when they were beaten 15-6 by South Africa. He scored a total of 1,246 points, second only in the world to the 1,442 of All Black Dan Carter.
He was part of four Six Nations title wins for England with the peak being a grand slam under coach Clive Woodward in 2003, the same year England won the World Cup 20-17 in Sydney.