LIST | 5 things you definitely didn’t know about Jonny Wilkinson

"Berkshire, with my wife, Shelley, and our toddler. We’re fortunate to live in a lovely house in a great area surrounded by nice people, but we’re leaning towards moving somewhere more rural as we both love the outdoors, nature and space. We enjoy going for long walks. Windsor Great Park is a joy."

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 married his girlfriend of eight years, scaffolding company heiress Shelley Jenkins, in a private ceremony at the town hall of the French resort of Bandol. Only two guests, one of them Wilkinson's mother, were present at the ceremony officiated by Bandol mayor Christian Palix, who said that "both [are] viewed with great respect" in the community.

The couple met 15 years ago while she was working as a cocktail waitress in the Majorcan resort of Magaluf. 

The pair then 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 has revealed that soon as he could walk, the youngster began kicking his small rugby ball. A sign for the future?

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