13 Dec 2011

Jonny Wilkinson retires from international rugby

8:15 am on 13 December 2011

The England great Jonny Wilkinson has retired from international rugby.

Wilkinson assured himself of a place in rugby history with the extra-time drop-goal that saw England, with just seconds remaining, win the 2003 World Cup final against hosts Australia in Sydney.

But afterwards his Test career was blighted by a succession of injuries and at the recent World Cup in New Zealand even his normally reliable goalkicking, so long a cornerstone of his game, let him down as England, beset by off-field problems, crashed out in the quarter-finals to France.

The 32-year-old Wilkinson bows out from Tests as England's record points scorer with 1,179 points from 91 matches.

He also scored 67 points in six Tests for the British and Irish Lions on tours of Australia (2001) and New Zealand (2005).

The former Newcastle stand-off, renowned for his extra training sessions and painstaking preparation, is expected to continue his club career with French side Toulon, where he has been since the northern hemisphere summer of 2009.