No Jonny come lately

A few weeks back, former England and Lions lock Paul Ackford was a puzzled man.

The Welsh had hammered Scotland to move within one game of an historic Six Nations Grand Slam in March.

Yet the following Monday morning, Britain's biggest newspapers were focusing not on that story but on a bloke who hadn't played a game for his country since November 2003 and had picked up another injury that weekend.

"Why? Why the obsessive, almost prurient fuss about a man who is having a desperate time coming to terms with the frailty of the human body," Ackford wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.

Because Jonny Wilkinson, at least the Jonny Wilkinson of 2003, was among the game's great match winners, and at that time Wilkinson was behind the 8-ball in his late bid to make the Lions tour.

Since drop-kicking England to World Cup glory in November that year, he hasn't played a game for his country, beset by a series of injuries, most notably knee, shoulder and bicep, which have sidelined him for the last two Six Nations championships.

Once Wilkinson had got through three games for Newcastle unscathed it was no surprise coach Sir Clive Woodward added the pivot to his tour squad.

"It is fantastic, it's great to have him there. Everyone knows about Jonny's capabilities, what he brings to a side and it is great to have him back in form and playing well," Lions and Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll said.

"Mentally, he is a tough player, his skill level is as high as you can get, and he is the complete No 10."

Wilkinson, 26 tomorrow, was a big part of the Lions 2001 tour of Australia, and his legend grew an extra leg with his exploits during the World Cup.

In the four games which really counted — the pool match against South Africa, the quarter-final against Wales, semifinal against the French and final against Australia — Wilkinson scored 82 of England's 97 points.

He's scored 817 in 52 matches, plus he's a fine, wholehearted defender and is a more gifted attacker than his reputation as a kicker first, second and third, would suggest.

Watching Wilkinson off the field is fascinating. At a media conference before the Wales quarter-final, he answered all questions thoughtfully, staring hard at a spot on the carpet in front of him.

You won't get any glib one-liners or flippancy. He's a seriously low-key bloke, with an obsession for getting his game just right.

He recalled an occasion when at 16 he pedalled down to a local park at 7am. With lunch on the table and no young Jonny his mother came looking for him.

"I was going through a phase when I wasn't happy with my practice and she managed to stop me from returning to the pitch until the evening — when I went back with my brother for another hour and a half."

The story went during the World Cup that he refused to play table tennis in the team games rooms unless it was non-competitive. Shout out "15-10" and he'd drop the bat. He said all his competitive juices are required for rugby.

As Wilkinson has largely been a watcher rather than a player for the last 18 months, expect him to be out on the practice field in most of his spare time in New Zealand, dotting i's and crossing t's. He's got some catching up to do.

But it is that point on which his talent, and his stature, rests. In Wilkinson's mind, a kicking session six years ago is stored in the bank.

In his absence — along with the retired Martin Johnson and the unwanted Neil Back — England's pre-eminent position in the Northern Hemisphere took a dent in this year's Six Nations championship.

There were losses — albeit narrow ones — to Wales, 11-9, France 18-17 and Ireland 19-13, before summarily dispatching Scotland and Italy.

Would England have lost any of those first three with a fit Wilkinson. Unlikely.

So how will Wilkinson fare in New Zealand? For starters, he's got tough competition for the No 10 test jersey from Welshman Stephen Jones, the outstanding first five-eighths of the championship.

Ronan O'Gara and Charlie Hodgson are unlikely to get ahead of those two in the pecking order. But first Wilkinson needs some quality rugby under his belt.

Does he get the kid gloves treatment in the early weeks of the New Zealand tour or some hard rugby to get him ready for June 25 at Jade Stadium?

Wilkinson watchers have an intriguing four weeks ahead.

LIFE OF JONNY

December 2003
Shoulder injury rules him out of 2004 Six Nations championship.

May 2004
Injury sidelines him from England's tour of New Zealand and Australia.

October 2004
Right upper arm haematoma puts him out of action for six weeks and rules him out of end-of-year test programme.

January 2005
Knee ligament damage means he misses first two rounds of Six Nations.

March 2005
Plays 34 minutes in comeback game before suffering recurrence of medial ligament injury.

May 2005
Belatedly named in Lions squad to tour New Zealand.