“Learning from the best” – Jonny Wilkinson joins England coaching team for World Cup

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Widely recognised for his unwavering commitment and pursuit of perfection during his illustrious playing career, the 43-year-old will be joining Steve Borthwick's coaching staff on a short-term deal as a specialist kicking coach.

He will balance this role with punditry for ITV, who hold the exclusive broadcast rights for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

His primary focus has been working with star players such as Owen Farrell, George Ford, and Marcus Smith during the summer.

England hero against Argentina, Ford, praised the number 10's influence since coming into camp when speaking to ITV Sport.

This appointment comes after France had expressed interest in recruiting Wilkinson for their own coaching team ahead of their home World Cup in September.

It is worth noting that Wilkinson has previously worked with England's coaching setup, specifically during their journey to the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Given his time playing for Toulon in France and his fluency in the language, Wilkinson is highly respected in the country. If he were to join France's coaching staff, he would follow in the footsteps of esteemed defense expert Shaun Edwards, who joined Les Bleus on a long-term deal from Wales. This would make Wilkinson the second Englishman to be part of their coaching setup.

Rugby fans worldwide are eagerly anticipating the impact of Wilkinson's expertise and experience in his new role as England prepares for the upcoming World Cup campaign.

Wilkinson’s brother, Mark, was also a Newcastle player who made 16 appearances in the Premiership for the side between 2002 and 2005, predominantly as a centre. His father, Phil, was a rugby player and cricketer, and his mother, Philippa, played squash at county level.  His grandfather, Phil, also played football for Norwich.

When former England centre Jeremy Guscott walked into the dressing room on the day of Wilkinson’s international debut, he thought the 18-year-old had won a competition to spend the day with the national team.

Wilkinson followed Buddhist principles and teachings to help control his perfectionist tendencies, according to an interview he gave with 

The Times newspaper in 2009.

Jonny and Shelley became parents for the first time in late 2018. They keep their private life pretty much on lockdown, but according to reports, they had a little boy called James while they were still living in France.

Wilkinson is currently a studio pundit for ITV Sport, working on their coverage of the Six Nations Championship, Rugby World Cup and other rugby events.

1. Jason Leonard (England): He was seen by Wilkinson as “someone who inspired and brought energy to the game” with impact.

2. Keith Wood (Ireland): “You need someone here in this position who can bring you the set piece control but at the same time I think they need to be aggressive, be someone that runs hard, someone that doesn’t stop, never gives up.”

3. Craig Dowd (New Zealand): “As with all tight heads what you want is someone who doesn’t take no for an answer, someone who is maybe a little quieter but someone you just don’t mess with”

4. Bakkies Botha (South Africa): "Someone incredibly fierce but very very down to earth” and “at times he’s exactly what a team needs.”

5. Martin Johnson (England): “intelligent, another massive leader, gets himself around the park. My captain"

6. Richard Hill (England): “A guy that stood the test of time and has remained at the best, the highest level of the game for that time.”

7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand): “A guy that stood the test of time and has remained at the best, the highest level of the game for that time.”

8. Pat Lam (Samoa): “He was one of the most creative, instinctive players as well as bringing his own brand of leadership and the way he saw the game.”

9. Gary Armstrong (Scotland): “The sheer aggression and resilience of the guy, his sheer character meant that anything, any ball that wasn’t good enough to go out to the number ten was never going to go out to the number ten. He would deal with everything himself and that meant control of the game”

10. Lynagh, Carter, Larkham, Stransky, Fox: “This is the key position for any World Cup winning team. You need guys that are going to lead and continue to do so right to the final seconds when it gets very, very tough. I can't just pick one."

12. Tim Horan (Australia): “A guy that knew how to win, knew how to play the game. His body language suggested he didn’t really know how to fail or what mistakes were, what under performance was.”

13. Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland): “The ability to change the game in a second, a heartbeat, with his movement, with his skill, his game reading but also his leadership.”

11. Jonah Lomu (New Zealand): “The guy is quite a remarkable rugby legend and deserves to be so. No Rugby World cup team would be complete without him.”

14. Jason Robinson (England): “His flair, his game reading, his sheer explosivity to really change a game is something that sticks in my memory. We wouldn't have won the World Cup without him,”

15. Serge Blanco (France): "He typified French rugby at its best with his audacity, ambition and flair. He was most famous for his scintillating counter-attacks, frequently running the ball out of seemingly impossible situations."