KEY POINTS:
LONDON - Buddhism has helped England's Jonny Wilkinson get over injury and the massive expectations on him before the Rugby Union World Cup final against South Africa, he said in comments published on Sunday (NZ time).
Wilkinson kicked England to a last-gasp victory in the final against Australia in 2003 and was subsequently feted as a national hero, until a string of injuries threatened to cut his career short.
But in an article in The Times on Saturday he said that as he battled back to full fitness, he turned to a variety of sources, including Buddhism, to help him cope with what he had achieved and the renewed burden of a nation's hopes.
"Don't get me wrong. Don't think: 'Jonny's now a Buddhist.' I am not. I have just been finding a direction, learning different ways of looking at life and taking bits I could use and discarding bits I could not," he wrote.
"Even down to the basics of how to relax, looking at meditation or better sleeping... How does all that impact on a game of rugby? I can't answer that.
"All I know is it's enough to help me to proceed in a way that makes me happy enough to go out there and be proud of who I am and what I hope I can bring to this team."
Wilkinson, whose drop goal against France in last Saturday's semifinal put England through to face the Springboks, said he has always battled against worrying about situations out of his control.
And as the tournament progressed and England turned round their poor early form to beat Australia and France, he said struggled against slipping into his old ways.
But the Newcastle Falcons first five-eighths said when he takes to the field at the Stade de France in Paris Sunday he will be glad when the whistle goes - and in the meantime is trying to block out thoughts of "what if".
"I will go out there for the World Cup final today stuffed with nerves and anxiety to do well. But there is a saviour, I find solace in the whistle going because my mind is then living in the moment."
- AFP
