Playing a risk worth taking for Wilkinson

Jonny Wilkinson will square up to the big-hitting Samoans on Sunday in a potentially punishing World Cup clash that he had no intention of missing.

While many England followers would prefer to see the fly-half wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the knockout stages, Wilkinson is having none of it.

“I am ecstatic about getting the chance to play this weekend,” he said.

“Since the summer tour of New Zealand and Australia, I had half a game against France and half a game against Georgia, followed by the South Africa match. I am very keen to be out there.”

Wilkinson’s fellow Lions – skipper Martin Johnson, flanker Neil Back, number eight Lawrence Dallaglio and full-back Jason Robinson – will also start their third successive Pool C game, in addition to centre Mike Tindall and lock Ben Kay, as head coach Clive Woodward adopts a no-risk selection policy.

“Jonny is like a lot of these top players, in that they want to play. Every time I take him off, he is not very happy with it, in the nicest possible way,” Woodward said.

“He is like a lot of other players. He is at his best when he plays once a week and keeps the whole thing going.

“My mindset is that if Sunday goes the way that we hope it will go, then he will have a week off next weekend before the quarter-finals.

“Samoa is a huge game for us, and we need to get this game right, hence we have picked what I would regard as our strongest side.”

Wilkinson will start his 49th Test in great kicking form, having hit the target with his last 24 shots at the posts – 11 penalties, 11 conversions and two drop-goals.

He has a kicking success rate of 89.7% in his 10 Tests so far this year, slotting 54 of 59 conversion and penalty attempts, and seven from nine drop-goals.

Wilkinson now averages more points per game than any of his rivals in the list of leading international points scorers.

His current England total of 740 is at an average of 15.42 points per game. The only other players who average more than 14 are New Zealanders Grant Fox and Andrew Mehrtens.

The Wilkinson emphasis remains on constant analysis and improvement as he prepares for a game which, if England win, will put them within touching distance of the quarter-finals.

“You aspire to the perfect performance, but it’s all about improving and raising the bar yourself,” Wilkinson said.

“As I play more games, I learn more and expect more of myself. You go out there, and find more things to work on.

“I have been more pleased over the last few years with my game, than if I look back maybe five years to when I started playing international rugby. I probably look at it now and think sometimes what was I doing at that time.

“I have certainly come on, and that is the aim, to hopefully keep moving on.

“I like to think I can keep everything fairly personal. If I go out there as prepared as I can be and try and hit my own personal targets and expectations, then hopefully that should be enough.

“I would like to think that my expectations are higher than what any of those people around me expect. That’s the way I keep it fairly simple,” he added.

“In the past, sometimes I got myself wound up and it has been difficult to let things go.

“But I am now able to distinguish between the two – I can watch a video and have a heavy hit of criticism of myself, but as soon as I leave that video room, I am learning how to get on with everyday life and think about everything else.

“The important thing is to have a balance. If I didn’t have that balance, then maybe I would struggle.

“It’s such a great feeling to be selected and to be in this environment, whether it’s the World Cup, Six Nations or autumn internationals.”

With Wilkinson at the helm, dictating matters behind a stronger pack on paper than the Samoan eight, England should record a comfortable victory.

Whether though, they can remain the only side yet to concede a try in World Cup 2003, is debatable, given Samoa’s ability and hunger to attack from anywhere, anytime.

It could be one of the tournament’s most entertaining matches, and with a capacity 55,000 crowd expected under the Telstra Dome’s closed roof, everything is set for a thrilling contest.