Why wily Wilkinson is not ready for the England scrapheap

Jonny Wilkinson, World Cup winner, record points scorer and England legend. Apparently, aged 28, after one average tournament (by his very high standards) and one bad game, none of this counts for anything and he is on the scrapheap.

According to the press he is in line to be permanently replaced by young Wasps starlet Danny Cipriani - ironically dubbed 'the new Wilkinson'. Well, I for one want to say this seems a little hasty, and smacks of the usual 'build 'em up, knock 'em down' nonsense from the English media. There is no doubt Cipriani has been in impressive form for his club, and his debut in the white shirt was full of potential. But to say Wilko’s England career is over seems very premature.

Amongst all the clamour surrounding the young pretender, no one seems to be looking at the stats. Despite not starting the final game, Wilkinson still ended up the highest points scorer in this season’s Six Nations, knocking over 60 points in four and a bit games. This is the kind of form that deserves to be rewarded, not ignored.

I would agree players should never be picked on reputation alone, but Jonny is still our most likely to score heavily in the No.10 shirt and as such should be picked. If any other team in the Six Nations had the leading points scorer in their side, there is no way there would be such a demand for him to be replaced. It is ludicrous when you think about it.

Not only that, but Wilkinson offers something rare in the current England side - rock-solid consistency and experience. Cipriani may be more expressive and inventive than his elder rival, but in those tough, tight games against the world’s top sides, two points, or a missed kick, can make all the difference between defeat and victory and if England need someone to keep the points ticking over there is no one better than Wilko. What he lacks in creativity, he makes up in devastating point scoring potential and that is vital to England’s success.  

One other thing to take into account is the response being dropped will elicit from Wilkinson himself. Through all his injury problems since the 2003 World Cup, he has never given up, and the emergence of Cipriani seems unlikely to cause him to do so. If anything I think it will provoke a formidable reaction from the Newcastle man.

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio summed the scenario up nicely. "The challenge is taken either way. You either lie down and let someone else take your place, or you rise to it. I have no doubt Jonny will go away and work on the areas of his game that he feels he needs to improve."

I do not see how Wilkinson firing on all cylinders can be ignored and this must surely be obvious to the English coaching staff.  But if Brian Ashton persists in playing Cipriani at fly half, one possibility is that Wilkinson will return to inside centre, the position he played when he initially broke onto the international scene.

Ultimately the emergence of rival Cipriani should be good for England. Wilko has never really had a serious rival, Charlie Hodgson and Olly Barkley never looked up to the job in an England shirt and only got on the pitch when injury struck the regular No.10. Now there is serious competition for the shirt, which should let both players raise their games and give Ashton and his team more tactical options.

One of the most impressive features of this year’s Welsh side was the array of talent that could play at No.10. James Hook, Steven Jones, and Dwayne Peel could all take up the mantle if asked. This allowed Warren Gatland to pick and choose his men depending on opposition, the way the game was going or form of the individuals involved. England have not had this luxury for years, and I hope we will start to make good use of it.  

There is no doubt Cipriani is a great talent, and will be England's No.10 in years to come, but for now Wilkinson deserves his place based on his form for England, his experience and proven consistency. It is too early to call time on his international career and if anyone deserves the chance to revive his form in an England shirt, it’s Wilko.