Wilko the Rugby Coach
Jonny Wilkinson will embark on the first stage of his transition from playing to coaching next season as a specialist skills mentor for Toulon.
Bernard Laporte, the Toulon head coach, said that the fly-half, who will retire after the French league leaders’ Top 14 final against Castres next weekend, was eager for his involvement in rugby not to end too abruptly.
“Jonny expressed his desire to join the coaching staff, because he did not want to finish in too brutal a manner,” he said.
Having enjoyed a renaissance at Toulon since his move there in 2009, Wilkinson, who turns 35 on Sunday, has no plans to move from the French Riviera as he seeks to impart his work ethic to the club’s younger generation.
Retirement Announced
Jonny Wilkinson, England’s 2003 World Cup-winning fly-half, has confirmed that he intends to retire from rugby at the end of the season.
The 34-year-old, who will turn 35 the day after Toulon face Saracens in the Heineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, made his long-awaited announcement on the Top 14 club’s website on Monday.
"I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce my retirement from playing rugby," said Wilkinson, who won 91 caps for England and six caps for the British and Irish Lions.
"It goes without saying that I have an enormous number of people to thank for their support from all around the world but especially here in France and in England.
"This however is not at all the time to be concentrating on this as I would like to focus all my attention and energy on the team and these final two games of the season.