As reported by RUCK, renowned rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson has joined England’s coaching team for the upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Widely recognised for his unwavering commitment and pursuit of perfection during his illustrious playing career, the 43-year-old will be joining Steve Borthwick’s coaching staff on a short-term deal as a specialist kicking coach.
He will balance this role with punditry for ITV, who hold the exclusive broadcast rights for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
His primary focus will be working with star players such as Owen Farrell, George Ford, and Marcus Smith during the summer.
This appointment comes after France had expressed interest in recruiting Wilkinson for their own coaching team ahead of their home World Cup in September.
It is worth noting that Wilkinson has previously worked with England’s coaching setup, specifically during their journey to the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Given his time playing for Toulon in France and his fluency in the language, Wilkinson is highly respected in the country. If he were to join France’s coaching staff, he would follow in the footsteps of esteemed defense expert Shaun Edwards, who joined Les Bleus on a long-term deal from Wales. This would make Wilkinson the second Englishman to be part of their coaching setup.
Rugby fans worldwide are eagerly anticipating the impact of Wilkinson’s expertise and experience in his new role as England prepares for the upcoming World Cup campaign.
Jonny Wilkinson facts:
Wilkinson’s brother, Mark, was also a Newcastle player who made 16 appearances in the Premiership for the side between 2002 and 2005, predominantly as a centre. His father, Phil, was a rugby player and cricketer, and his mother, Philippa, played squash at county level. His grandfather, Phil, also played football for Norwich.
When former England centre Jeremy Guscott walked into the dressing room on the day of Wilkinson’s international debut, he thought the 18-year-old had won a competition to spend the day with the national team.
Wilkinson followed Buddhist principles and teachings to help control his perfectionist tendencies, according to an interview he gave with The Times newspaper in 2009.
Jonny and Shelley became parents for the first time in late 2018. They keep their private life pretty much on lockdown, but according to reports, they had a little boy called James while they were still living in France.
Wilkinson is currently a studio pundit for ITV Sport, working on their coverage of the Six Nations Championship, Rugby World Cup and other rugby events.
The 5 Greatest Fly-Halves Of All Time, Named And Ranked
Here we pick our top five best fly-halves of all time. We’ve used a number of stats to quantify our rankings, as well as a player’s overall contribution to the game. So who makes it into our top five?
All stats come from ESPN.com and are correct as of the publish date.
#5. Jonathan Davies (Wales)
Cross-code star Jiffy made up for his lack of height, standing 5ft 8in, with great pace, great acceleration and natural quality.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe fly-half would have made a lot more appearances for Wales if he had not switched to Rugby League between 1989 and 1995.
During his two periods in Union, he made a total 37 appearances for Wales and is considered one of Wales’s finest ever rugby talents.
Did you know? Davies has since become a television rugby football commentator and media personality, in both the Welsh and English languages.
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