Wilkinson: 'I feel good'

Jonny Wilkinson is ready to roar with the Lions this summer, with England’s World Cup hero hero declaring: “It will be an amazing tour.”

Wilkinson’s waiting game finally ended – after three comeback appearances for Newcastle – when Lions boss Sir Clive Woodward named him as the 45th player to tour New Zealand this summer.

England’s record Test match points-scorer was omitted from the original squad after experiencing a demoralising post-World Cup period blighted by repeated injury setbacks.

Those well-chronicled fitness problems – two knee injuries, biceps trouble and a serious shoulder/neck injury – had the combined effect of sidelining him from England duties since the 2003 World Cup final.

Woodward though, left the selection door open, and Wilkinson could now conceivably take centre-stage during the three-Test series against New Zealand, despite competition from fellow fly-halves Stephen Jones, Ronan O’Gara and Charlie Hodgson.

Wilkinson said: “It will be an amazing tour, and to be asked to go on a Lions tour is the ultimate honour.

“All I can say at the moment is that I am physically fit enough. I can’t be any fitter or better conditioned than I am now.

“It has been a tough old two years, and I’ve had to do a lot of digging into my character and soul-searching.

“There have been a few weeks of training now where I haven’t had to think about the injury every day, and that is always a good sign. I’ve not felt this fit for a long, long time,” he added.

“I’ve got to reach my own expectations, which are extremely high, and if I can get near to that, then hopefully everything can take care of itself.

“It makes me immensely proud to be going on this tour after a tough season, although also a little nervous in anticipation of what will be an incredible tour.”

It will be Wilkinson’s second Lions trip after he toured Australia four years ago. He celebrates his 26th birthday today.

The availability of Wilkinson, who has amassed 817 points in 52 Tests for England, is music to Woodward’s ears.

He said: “When we announced the squad, a number of players had to prove their fitness before inclusion in the tour party. This included Jonny.

“He has come through it with typical determination, and I am delighted he is able to join the tour party.

“I have been monitoring his progress over the past few weeks, and have been impressed. He has looked good physically, and his appetite for the game has clearly not diminished.

“With the likes of O’Gara, Jones and Hodgson proven world-class players, and now Wilkinson, we have an incredibly strong group to draw on to face the challenges ahead of us in New Zealand.”

Wilkinson’s selection continues a successful finale to a season which appeared in tatters when he limped off during Newcastle’s Zurich Premiership defeat at Harlequins two months ago.

It looked to be the final devastating blow during an injury-ravaged campaign that saw him miss England’s entire RBS 6 Nations programme and Newcastle’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against French champions Stade Francais in Paris.

But he returned for a Friday night encounter with Northampton, and then continued his rehabilitation with impressive displays during Falcons’ games against London Irish and Gloucester, either side of signing a new three-year deal which will keep him on Tyneside until 2008.

And those firm Falcons foundations will be crucial to Wilkinson, as he looks to re-establish himself on the international arena, starting with the Lions and building towards England’s World Cup defence in 2007.

“In the next three years, I hope to be speaking at this time of the season about the Zurich Premiership play-offs and Heineken Cup final,” he added.

“We have quality people at the Falcons, and if I didn’t feel we were capable of achieving our ambitions, then I could have gone elsewhere, but this bunch of guys we have are going to fight long and hard to get where we want to be in the coming years.

“It is a huge goal of mine and the rest of the boys to win the Heineken Cup for the people of Newcastle, and it is as big as anything else that you could possibly achieve in the game.

“The supporters have been incredible during a time when I’ve been the lowest of my entire life.

“I’ve had letters and messages, which are great, but the most important thing is that the people of Newcastle and the north-east in general, have treated me with an enormous amount of respect.

“The way that they approach me is as if they really understand what I’ve been going through, and it makes life a lot easier when the public up here are as good with me as they are. They just let me get on with my life.

“I couldn’t have asked for any more support than they have given me. In the times when I’ve been down, they’ve understood, and it is now up to me to pay them back.”