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'It's what needed to happen': Wilkinson's message to bruised England side
By Ben Smith
England's legendary flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson has offered a philosophical view of the 53-10 defeat at the hands of defending Grand Slam champions France.
The World Cup-winning No 10s perspective comes from personal experience after Wilkinson was involved in previous heavy defeats, suffering a 76-0 loss to Australia in 1998 and a 58-10 loss to South Africa in 2007.
In both cases England rebounded from the losses to have success, winning one World Cup in 2003 and making the final in the other 2007.
Wilkinson believed that the defeat will help the side reach the bottom from which they can shed themselves of false beliefs, allowing for a re-birth to occur following a mindset change.
His personal experience from the defeat to the Wallabies ended up as a 'cleansing opportunity' which enabled him to experience growth as a player.
"It's really interesting because it's what needs to happen, there is no other way around it," Wilkinson explained to the ITV post-game show.
"It's not a wrong turn, it's not the end of the path, this is the path.
"In that 1998 game for me it was a real cleansing opportunity to realise the story of who I thought I was could no longer carry on.
"It was almost forced to change. And in that change I found brand new possibility."
The former England flyhalf also didn't think this meant that success is years away, pointing to his experience in 2007 leading to his second World Cup final appearance.
England were heavily beaten in the summer by the Springboks in South Africa and returned to face them at that year's World Cup.
"In Bloemfontein in 2007, yes in the summer there we lost a game by 50 points, within three months we were in a World Cup final," he recalled.
"It doesn't mean 'oh this means years and years of this', it has to happen. It's a massive humility check in all kinds of ways.
"Not that those guys are arrogant but it is realising that an evolution needs to take place and it is a huge learning experience.
"If there is that desire and intention to push on, it will turn into something bigger and better.
"However long that takes, I don't know. Which players will be there and which won't, I don't know."
It doesn't get any easier for England who have to face Ireland next week, the world's current number one ranked side and favourites to complete a Grand Slam.
They will travel to Dublin to face Andy Farrell's side at home which could be a ceremonious occasion should Ireland defeat Scotland on Sunday.
Despite the result against France, Wilkinson believed the team will feel less burdened now that the worst has happened.
"I think that team will come out lighter next time on the field," he said.
"They'll feel more bouncy on their feet. They won't feel heavier because of this defeat.
"In that Ireland game I think there will be a freshness in the team.
"They can say 'yeah okay let's stop pretending' and give it a crack."
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Latest Comments
Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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