Wilkinson eyes the final test

LONDON - Jonny Wilkinson has not ruled out playing in the third and final test, despite a niggling injury.

He was replaced midway through the second half of last Saturday's 48-18 loss to the All Blacks in Wellington after hurting his neck and shoulder.

Although Wilkinson was cleared of serious injury, head coach Clive Woodward said yesterday that there were doubts about him playing at Eden Park.

But in a column for the London Times, Wilkinson wrote: "When I woke yesterday [Sunday] morning, I felt better than I thought I would because after the match I was unable to move much at all. So the injury has improved with time.

"As much as it is bad to say that I am used to these, it is also true that I am used to recovering from them.

"That is why I haven't ruled anything out. I'll take it day by day and go by the physio's advice."

Wilkinson has been plagued with injuries that have required surgery since kicking the dropped goal that won England the 2003 World Cup against Australia.

He was substituted in the second test after hurting his neck and shoulder in an attempted tackle on All Black skipper Tana Umaga, and then received a second "stinger" when he was later hit on the head in a mistimed tackle on first five-eighths Daniel Carter.

"The reason the injury is not as worrying as it might have been is because the 'stinger' ... went down my left arm," he said.

"Had it been my right arm, the side I injured so badly 18 months ago that I needed surgery, I really would be concerned."

Wilkinson, who is desperate to play in the final test, knows the players have one more chance to leave "some kind of mark of ourselves on this tour and on Lions history".

"The series is gone, but I cannot understate the collective feeling among this group of players that we take away something concrete from this tour, something we can be proud of.

"Whether I can play any part in this, I don't know. After the two knocks I sustained on Saturday, it could be a lot worse, so I'm actually quite relieved.

"We've got one more chance to be involved in something great. It's so important to us. We cannot stand the thought of leaving things like this."

With New Zealand having won the series, assistant coach Ian McGeechan said the Lions wanted to wait until after tonight's match against Auckland before announcing their test team.

- REUTERS