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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Jonny Wilkinson To Retire at End of Season!


The last of England's World Cup heroes from 2003 will call it quits at the end of this season.

Jonny Wilkinson will finish his illustrious rugby career at the end of the Top 14 season which finishes on the last day of May. Wilkinson will have two more chances to add to his bulging trophy cabinet as his club, Toulon are in the Heineken Cup and Top 14 Finals, taking on Saracens and Castres respectively.

Victory in at least one of them will cap off a career that went on much longer than we expected, considering the multitude of injuries that plagued the early part of the career of the 2nd most prolific points scorer in international rugby history behind Dan Carter.


Wilkinson may not have the talent, flair and all-round abilities of New Zealand's Dan the Man, but he had the intelligence and knowledge to guide the England team at its key playmaker position. He was a demon tackler and of course, it was his ability to kick goals that made him such a match-winner for England early on.


Indeed, it was that drop goal that earned English rugby its proudest moment in its history yet.  


Wilkinson retired from international rugby after the 2011 Rugby World Cup to concentrate on his career with Toulon who he has helped return to glory days - a Heineken Cup win in 2013 and two Top 14 finals.



A model professional, even with the fame after winning the Rugby World Cup, Wilkinson never really flirted with celebrity status as much as his compatriot footballers and gained much respect from the media and peers as a result.

Wilkinson. Another legend of the game.

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