Thompson gamble pays off as England come knocking

STEVE THOMPSON’S £500,000 gamble paid off handsomely today after he was named as England’s starting hooker to face Australia at Twickenham.

The World Cup winner last donned the England number two jersey in 2006 before he underwent neck surgery and was warned by medics to quit the game or risk paralysis.

Thompson cashed his £500,000 (€550,000) insurance cheque, took up a coaching role at Brive and tucked into the French lifestyle as he ballooned to nearly 22 stone.

But Thompson realised, while standing on the sidelines, he could not give up on his playing career — and his England ambitions — without a fight and so he sought a second opinion. When medics in France and the US agreed to give him the go-ahead, Thompson sent the money back and set his sights on regaining the England place he had once held virtually unopposed.

That remarkable comeback was completed yesterday when Thompson joined Jonny Wilkinson, another long-term absentee, in returning to the England side for Saturday’s showdown with the Wallabies.

“This was always my target. My whole reason for coming back was to try to play for England again,” said Thompson. “All the compensation had to go back. It was just over £500,000. I’ve lost money from coming back but I don’t regret it.

“I still had more in me and I wanted to do it. You have to aim to play at the highest level or there’s no point coming back. I am really excited and I am nervous. It’s like winning your first cap again really. I know what to expect from the whole day and I am just looking to enjoy it.

“I’m here now and I’ve got to cement my place and I really want to go to another World Cup. I believe I’ve got that in me. I feel really rejuvenated and really ready for the challenge.”

Thompson was considered the finest hooker in the world when England won the 2003 World Cup. His form dipped after, however and by the time injury struck, Thompson had fallen out of love with the game, he was fed up of training and lost “the fire in my belly”, but that has now returned with a vengeance.

Thompson returned to rugby in late 2007 weighing nearly 22 stone but he has trimmed down to 17 stone, leaner than his fighting weight in 2003 but, he believes, much more explosive.

“You don’t realise how good something is until you lose it and suddenly I’ve got a chance to get it back and really take it all in,” said the 31-year-old, who will win his 49th cap on Saturday.

“I’ve only got a few years left in me as a rugby player and I am fitter than I’ve ever been. I think my scrummaging has really improved and my mauling but hopefully I’ve still got the legs to run out wide or whatever.”

Remarkably, England will field Thompson and Wilkinson in the same side for the first time since the triumphant 2003 World Cup final against Australia. Thompson and Wilkinson have both had their careers reinvigorated by life in the Top 14.

“We sat down in the pub last week — I had a beer and he had a coke — we were just talking about the whole experience,” said Thompson.

“He’s still got that focus but he looks as if he’s got more of a balance and that goes for me too really.”