Wednesday 18 March 2015 15:50, UK
Jonny Wilkinson spoke to Sky Sports about the famous rugby rivalry between England and France, as Stuart Lancaster's men prepare for a Six Nations showdown with Les Bleus at Twickenham on Saturday.
On Saturday England bring an end to the 2015 Six Nations when they host France at Twickenham Stadium. It's a game that could decide the competition, but even if that isn't the case, the intensity in a packed Twickenham will be felt throughout the rugby community.
It's an atmosphere and a rivalry that is familiar to one particular man who played for England against France many times, then for a French team against their English rivals in European competitions. It was a career that spanned 17 seasons; 12 with Newcastle and five with Toulon, and as an Englishman who left France a hero after those five years, there is no man better to reflect on Europe's most famous rugby rivalry than Jonny Wilkinson.
There is that side of French rugby that it is hugely energy and spirit-driven. They feed from each other, they feed from the crowd and they feed from the atmosphere.
“The first time I actually played them was in 1999 in the Five Nations as it was then," Wilkinson told Sky Sports. "We won - it was one of those games that came down to penalties; it wasn't a classic England and France encounter.
“My first one of those came in 2000, over in France, in a massively physically affair which we managed to win. I think we celebrated afterwards like it was a World Cup final, which illustrates what a big deal it was to beat France at that time.
“We ended up defending on our own line in that game with 14 men. You're running around and it's taking everything just to plug the holes.
“Once you learn from the one game it's difficult not to let it sit in your mind and fester before the next one, so you go out there thinking 'just don't give them that early break'.“
Wilkinson played 91 Tests for England, and in that time played against the French on 14 occasions. His record against them is an impressive one, with nine victories coming in the Six Nations as well as two World Cups as England knocked out France in 2003 and 2007.
In the 2011 World Cup Les Bleus got revenge over their rivals, sending Martin Johnson’s England packing in a quarter-final in Auckland, bringing an end to Wilkinson’s career, but the man born in Frimley has only fond memories of the days leading up to an international against France.
“You treat every team and every game with the utmost respect because they deserve it,” said the former Toulon man. “But the preparation for the French game was different.
“You knew that in any performance from France there were going to be moments where you were going to be completely backs-to-the-wall and breathing hard. There was an anxiety about preparing for France because you just know that's in there somewhere, and if it comes out, you're in trouble.”
As young man Wilkinson got his first taste of rugby in France when he travelled as a replacement during Newcastle’s European campaign, and the experience never left him during his years as a player.
“I remember sitting on the bench for Newcastle against Agen and Perpignan and I've never been so intimidated in all my life.
“There is that side of French rugby that it is hugely energy and spirit-driven. They feed from each other, they feed from the crowd and they feed from the atmosphere.
“You can very quickly go from being right in the game and relatively in control to being completely out of it, almost to the point that you may as well down tools and head off for the day - it can happen that quickly.
“I think it's quite exciting. It would be a real shame if there wasn't that added something there."
By the time Wilkinson and England had been excused from the 2011 World Cup by the French, Wilkinson had already been playing for Toulon for two seasons, having joined them from Newcastle at the beginning of the 2009-10 season.
It’s an experience that Wilkinson says gave him a good perspective on the French game, one that had until that point escaped him.
“There's no doubt that having five years in the thick of the French culture - learning day in, day out about everything there - has been incredibly revealing.
“Also from a respect point of view I have even more respect for them. I had a lot to begin with but I have even more now.
By the time Jonny Wilkinson decided to hang up his boots, he did so as a legend of the game, and as an honorary citizen of Toulon. Despite being English, the man who sent Les Bleus out of two World Cups left as a favoured son of French rugby.
Typically, Wilkinson is hesitant to reflect on his own efforts when his reputation is brought up, and points instead to the love and passion of the French population.
“It's impossible to put into words. You don't know what to say, you just know that it's an incredibly privileged position to be in.
“Amongst all the great values of people in an area of a country that love their sport; that love to go out there and support a team and have a passion for a game.
“The overriding thing is that it’s unconditional and it’s constant.
“You can’t go around shaking everyone’s hand but that’s how you feel. You want to, because to life and to everything it makes a difference. It makes for an experience where you say ‘thank god I made that move and thank god for the goodness in people in France and in Toulon’.”
Jonny Wilkinson is an Ambassador for GUINNESS, Official Beer of England Rugby. To view GUINNESS' 'Made of More' campaign, celebrating the character and integrity of some of rugby's greatest heroes, visit www.youtube.com/GUINNESSEurope
