5 things you didn't know about Jonny Wilkinson, including his phobias, religion and son

Rugby News

by Rugby Rucker

Friday, 10 September 2021 at 10:55

byRugby Rucker

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Being one of the most popular players on the globe is likely to generate an incredible fan-base globally, but we are fairly confident that there are some aspects of Jonny Wilkinson’s life and career you are not familiar with.

Jonny Wilkinson facts:

#1. Sporting family

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.

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#2. Competition winner

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.

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#3. First born

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.

#4. Beliefs

Wilkinson followed Buddhist principles and teachings to help control his perfectionist tendencies, according to an interview he gave with The Times newspaper in 2009.

Giant Buddha sitting on lotusl. Hong Kong

#5. Phobias

"Heights. Being stuck in a lift, now we’ve talked about that. And audience participation, the type you get at stage shows. In school, we had three occasions like that and I got selected all three times. I tried different approaches, apart from getting up and running out of the building, and I still got picked every time."