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| Jonny Wilkinson © Gallo Images |
Jonny Wilkinson tackled as hard, kicked as well and distributed as neatly as ever Saturday to make England's 18-9 loss to Australia a lot less painful than it might otherwise have been for team manager Martin Johnson.
On his return to international rugby after an 18-month absence,
the 30-year-old flyhalf kicked his injury-hit team into a 9-5
halftime lead and gave it hope of an unlikely victory over the
touring Wallabies.
Slow ball and inexperience let Australia back into the match and
left Johnson contemplating a seventh loss from his 12 matches in
charge, but Wilkinson showed he has made the transition from boy
wonder to the old hand ready to help guide a new-look side.
Johnson was without 13 players because of injury, including an
entire Lions' front row and certain starters Delon Armitage and
Riki Flutey. But Wilkinson's calming influence made up for much and
helped coax encouraging performances from less experienced
teammates.
"It's great to be back," Wilkinson said. "We like the odd
sabbatical away from it, from having bashed up bodies, but coming
back is great and being in front of a crowd like that, you just
want more."
And even with matches against Argentina and New Zealand to come,
things look brighter than after last year's 28-14 loss in the
corresponding fixture.
"This is a fantastic squad in terms of the attitude and energy
we've got and in the direction we're trying to take this,"
Wilkinson said. "They've played a lot of test matches together and
they've been through a lot and that brings you closer together.
"We'll have familiar experiences to make us tighter. There's
only so much experience you can get from working and training."
Wilkinson should know.
The famously fanatical trainer spent hours each day practicing
the kicking that has made him rugby's all-time leading points
scorer - 1 041 for England after Saturday - but his loose play
showed the benefit of having spent the first two months of this
season injury free and out on the field.
Reinvigorated by a move from Newcastle to Toulon, Wilkinson was
back to his best on Saturday, stopping bigger opponents in their
tracks with bone-shaking tackles and spreading play with
imaginative cross-field kicking.
It only took two minutes, 44 seconds for him to remind fans what
they had been missing since shoulder surgery, knee damage, appendix
removal, hernia operation, a lacerated kidney and other injuries
interrupted his progress.
He put England ahead with a drop goal, just as he did in the
closing stages of the 2003 World Cup final win over the same
opponents.
"It's a fantastic feeling, it really is, and what's so great is
that you're being supported," Wilkinson said. "Being out there, who
knows how it's going to go? You prepare the best you can and give
it absolutely everything."
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