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Jonny: My Autobiography

Page 36

by Wilkinson, Jonny


  Coach: G Wappett Captain: J Lofthouse

  Balshaw, Tindall, Christophers, Wilkinson, Flatman, Mears, Borthwick, Sanderson and Sheridan went on to win full senior England honours; Danielli did so for Scotland

  Jonny was also a member of the England Schools (16 group) squad in 1995.

  Statistical section compiled by John Griffiths.

  Playing for Farnham and looking a little bit too clean for my liking.

  Showing some real gas at an early age, which soon disappeared.

  This must be a break in play. I look as though I’m stuck.

  The team. Farnham U13s.

  Top: Lord Wandsworth U15s.

  Middle: A very shy schoolboy meeting his rugby idol, Rob Andrew.

  Bottom: Lord Wandsworth First XV. As they say, definitely up there with the best years of my life.

  Fully padded up with a freshly cut flat top, and perfect technique.

  The Officers Club XI, with Bilks as captain, Sparks bowling fast and my good friend Andy Holloway in there as well.

  Right: This photo is a family favourite. Sparks looking after me in Bath.

  Bottom left: Matching clothes, haircuts and Velcro shoes. The world was our oyster.

  Bottom right: Sparks and I at Christmas. Sparks eyeing up my presents.

  Right: Proudly receiving the PRA Player of the Year award, with Mum and Dad there to share the special moment.

  Above: The Lions First Test. A great win, and a great feeling to be able to share the moment with Bilks.

  Right: Mum, Dad and I … and an MBE. A real honour for me in every way.

  Below: Mum and I and the great man, Inga Tuigamala, in New Zealand in 2005.

  Warming up before coming on in another of my many comebacks.

  Training and playing with my bro is always a pleasure. He has a great rugby brain and takes on much more than his share of the responsibility.

  A proud moment for me as Sparks shines on the field at 12 and me at 10.

  Talking shop during a break in play. Sparks still looking after me.

  I wish there could have been more days like these. Sparks and I together on the field again.

  Top: Me, Sparks, Peely, no idea, Machin and Murph. Great days.

  Middle: Dinner out in Majorca for my friends and I. Sparks taking the photo this time.

  Bottom: A ‘bad shirt’ night out in my home town of Farnham.

  Left: In my younger days, fresh-faced and ready for anything.

  Right: The England U18 Grand Slam-winning team with some familiar names in the line-up.

  The only team ever to beat the Rest of the World team. My first start at 10. Inga and Pat Lam were on a different level for this one.

  Top: My first England cap and the realisation of a massive dream.

  Middle: An England team full of legends, and me.

  Left: My first touch as an England player … and as a winger.

  Right: Playing 12 against Scott Gibbs and Blackie’s Wales at Wembley.

  Top: Before big games, Blackie always knows the right things to say and the right words to say them with.

  Middle: Blackie. He is, has always been and I know will always be there for me.

  Right: I owe my performances to Blackie, he really is just that good.

  Above: In the gym with Blackie and Sparks. A very common theme during my life.

  Perfect technique … Dave’s that is.

  Dave gets another taste of my frustration.

  Top: The best kicking coach in the world or not, Dave always has time for a joke.

  Below: I have really leaned on Dave when the pressure hits home. Here before the South Africa pool game in 2003.

  An amazing feeling to win the Tetley’s Bitter Cup. Even better to do it in the last minute.

  I learned so much from playing alongside Inga.

  Desperation stuff with one of the hardest and most courageous in the game, Jamie Noon.

  Trying out some of the Blackie footwork.

  Another of those comebacks. This time down in Gloucester.

  A rare show of emotion as I land a last-minute drop goal to seal a game at Kingston Park.

  Getting an offload away and getting smashed for my troubles in Bloemfontein, 2000.

  One from the corner in the RWC 1999.

  Here I am making a break against France in a very baggy version of an England shirt.

  World Cup 1999 and the big one against a very good All Black team.

  The Centenary Test in 1999 versus Australia, and legends Tim Horan and George Gregan.

  Lions, 2005. Trying to get free but there was always a Kiwi defender, or two, nearby.

  Blackie was the Lions’ fitness conditioner and we really hammered the footwork drills. Here it is paying off.

  It’s not often you get a shot on the great Richie McCaw, so I gave this one everything.

  Left: Bagging a five-pointer in the deciding Third Test in Sydney.

  Right: Lions tours are a good place to make some real team men. Here are two of the best, Brian O’Driscoll and Rob Henderson.

  Above: When future teammate and inspirational Toulon captain Joe Van Niekerk runs, he runs hard.

  Right: Defence was our team’s number one priority under coach Phil Larder. I loved that approach.

  Below left: Bloody, battered and really, really happy. A Grand Slam will do that to you.

  Below right: I get to lead the team against Italy in 2003. There is no bigger honour.

  Top: Mike Tindall helps me deal with the swirling wind during our victory over New Zealand in Wellington.

  Above: One of my favourite matches on tour in Australia, 2003. A tough place to go and win, but we did it.

  I never stopped thinking about rugby and goals as a kid. I never stopped as an adult either.

  Taking on the Australian defence and the powerful Stirling Mortlock.

  A massive performance from the boys up front provides me with some shots at goal in the RWC 2003 semi-final against France.

  That kick, the one that changed my life in so many ways.

  Words cannot describe just how good this moment felt.

  Inset: Clive really did know exactly what he was doing. He was fantastic to me. I owe him a lot.

  Top: Here’s a classic example of somewhere that you never thought you’d end up. It was an amazing privilege to meet Her Majesty The Queen with the team.

  Middle left: Here I am flanked by a couple of guys I would lay down and die for: Mike Catt and Richard Hill. You won’t find two better people or players.

  Middle right: BBC Sports Personality of the Year. I can’t even remember what I said in my speech. Thank you for the votes.

  Bottom left: The guy behind it all who led from the front in every way. Our inspirational Martin Johnson checking on me one last time.

  Bottom right: My close friend and the team’s Mr Consistent, Richard Hill, and I on the celebratory trip round London.

  Sometimes you just get the timing right.

  Sometimes you don’t. The chiropractor Brian Lima is a little high with this one. What a tackler, though.

  I loved the contact sessions.

  The final straw, almost. I thought this one had finally got me. The torn and dislocated kneecap was probably the worst of the lot.

  Even worse than the big neck injury I suffered in my first game back after the 2003 World Cup.

  Below: I still can’t stop myself from flying in.

  Above: Adidas: always supporting me. The scary thing is, they missed off a shoulder operation and two more torn knee ligaments!

  Thankfully, this one hits the mark in the RWC 2007 semi-final and we pull away just enough from a French team who were flying high.

  What a player, and a truly nice guy too. I give you the legendary Jason Robinson.

  The incredibly gifted Matthew Tait. Awesome player, great friend.

  Four years on and so close. It was a phenomenal effort from a fabulous group. It still hurts.

  A proud and exciting moment for
me, alongside President Mourad Boudjellal, as I sign for French team RC Toulon.

  Wearing the colours with pride, and sporting my new South of France tan.

  What a pleasure to be on the same field as two of the world’s best back-rowers. Joe Van Niekerk and Juan Lobbe.

  Le petit General Pierre Mignoni. A true example of what’s great about French rugby.

  Carl Hayman, Juan Lobbe and myself leap from the white rocks of Cassis.

  Top Right: Shelley and I at her twin sister Tracey’s wedding near their family home in Bristol.

  Top Left: A bit of down-time and a laugh with Shelley. She has been absolutely amazing for me. Heaven knows, I can’t be easy to live with!

  Right: You won’t find a more loyal and supportive bunch. Shelley, Mum, Dad and my godparents Bren and Myf at the World Cup in Paris, 2007.

  Left: Mame, Bilks and Sparks. I will never be able to thank you enough.

  Top left: Enjoying my international rugby again after a good start to the season in France.

  Top right: Harder times, and with them a real challenge for me.

  Middle left: The influence of Sonny Bill. I manage to get this one-handed offload away to Nick Easter in the quarter-final versus France.

  Middle right: Sending it out wide to Manu and Tinds against the Pumas.

  Bottom left: A good opportunity to remind myself that no matter how tough things seem, we are and have been a privileged bunch to be doing what we do for a living. A glorious stage on which to practise my kicking in Queenstown

  Bottom right: A right foot drop goal against Scotland.

 

 

 


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