Lions TourEighteen months of pain and frustration will finally end for Jonny Wilkinson on Monday after he was included yesterday in the British and Irish Lions team to face Argentina in Cardiff, his first taste of international rugby since kicking the winning drop-goal in the World Cup final in Sydney.
There are six Irishmen, five Englishmen, three Welshmen and a lone Scot - Edinburgh's Simon Taylor - in Clive Woodward's initial selection, and none is more grateful for the early call than Wilkinson, who was drafted into the squad only 10 days ago after convincing the management he had recovered from his latest knee injury.
It was always a sure bet Woodward would take the first possible opportunity to play Wilkinson, on the harsh but fair grounds the Lions need to know early on whether his much-discussed body can take the strain. Having being named vice-captain of a side led by Wales's Michael Owen, however, England's outhalf is focused on making up for lost time.
"At times it felt like it was going to be difficult to earn a place in the squad," he admitted, reflecting on his painstaking struggle to regain full match fitness after a grim sequence of neck, shoulder, biceps and knee problems. "Between now and Monday I'll look back and appreciate that I'm very grateful and lucky to be here. After the second knee injury, when I was waiting for my scan, if there was a light at the end of the tunnel it wasn't a very bright one.
"It's been one of those years, but things in rugby and life don't come for free. I believe you earn your success, but during the past year that's been difficult for me. I hate feeling I'm not earning the respect and confidence of players around me."
Such misgivings, from Wilkinson's perspective, can now be set aside as he strives, like everyone else, for a Test role in New Zealand next month. "I have had fewer games than a lot of people but the Lions is like the start of a new season. It's a level playing field, a bit like pre-season when you're just trying to get games. Any time on the field is helpful to me at the moment and I'll have to see how I react to the pressure and intensity of a Lions home game.
"To be honest I quite enjoyed the situation I was put in by Clive of having to prove my fitness. Maybe he knew I prefer to earn things and not live off past reputation. I'd rather be backed into a corner than be given something on the basis of what I achieved with England a few years ago. I'd rather be fighting for something than presuming things."
Neither has Wilkinson's ambition been diluted. "To be honest I have no idea what my best is. My best now is very different to what it would have been 15 months ago . . . I expect more from myself. I can never say I'm playing at my best but I can say I'm happy with the direction in which I'm moving."
Woodward will be delighted if his stand-off displays the same sort of form against the Pumas he produced at Gloucester 11 days ago, although the head coach is determined to avoid the trap of treating Wilkinson differently from his colleagues.
"This game is important to every Lions player," he stressed, having told his squad to treat the Argentina fixture as a major opportunity to impress. "I don't want to be singling Jonny Wilkinson out. He's now in the team on merit, he's fully fit and I thought he played particularly well in his last game. He was very keen to play in the opening game and I'm delighted to see him out there."
Neither Stephen Jones nor Gareth Thomas, the Lions's two France-based Welshmen, were available for selection and Woodward's hand was also forced in other respects. Five Sale players are involved in this weekend's European Challenge Cup final against Pau, Neil Back has been stood down pending the result of a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing tonight, and five further players with minor knocks - Will Greenwood, Gavin Henson, Richard Hill, Tom Shanklin and Matt Stevens - were not considered, so as to ensure they are 100 per cent fit by the time the squad flies to Auckland next Wednesday.
The tour captain Brian O'Driscoll has also been saved for the opening game on Kiwi soil against Bay of Plenty in Rotorua on June 4th but the Cardiff line up still contains some intriguing elements, not least the inclusion in the 22 of six of the Leicester side who underperformed so badly against Wasps in last weekend's English Premiership final.
"Just hearing the names being read out gives me a real sense the tour is under way," said Woodward. "There is no doubt we have the makings of a great Lions team."
At the start of the season Owen was not only unsure of his place in the Wales side, he also did not know whether his future lay in the backrow or the secondrow. Next Monday evening the 24-year-old forward will lead the Lions against Argentina at the Millennium Stadium, two months after captaining Wales to their first grand slam for 27 years at the same ground.
Owen took over the captaincy halfway through Wales's Six Nations campaign when Gareth Thomas broke his thumb during the first half of their defining victory in Paris, and the two made contrasting leaders. Thomas is a warrior who wears his heart on his sleeve; Owen is more introverted and leads by example. A thinking, rangy number eight, he proved, in his very different way, as inspiring as Thomas.
"Leading Wales is a privilege and to be asked to captain the Lions is beyond words," he said. "It has been a great season for me, but what happened with Wales is history and the challenge facing the Lions in New Zealand is a huge one.
"When I was named in the squad I hoped I would be part of the team to face Argentina because the game was in Cardiff, but I never thought I would be leading the players on to the field."
