Jonny Wilkinson has heightened the sense of expectation surrounding his England return by claiming the feeling in the current squad is similar to the one when they won the World Cup in 2003.

The 30-year-old heads into the November Tests against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand in great shape after a superb start to the season with Toulon, the French club he moved to before the current campaign got underway.

The sight of a fully-fit Wilkinson back in an England shirt will bring a smile to the face of manager Martin Johnson, who lifted the World Cup six years ago thanks in no small part to the five-eighth’s kicking skills.

England fans will be breathing just as big a sigh of relief that Wilkinson, who has been ravaged by injury since 2003, has not joined the increasing number of senior players ruled out of next month’s internationals at Twickenham.

And supporters will be buoyed by Wilkinson’s take on the spirit currently engulfing Johnson’s England squad.

“I was out for a long time and when I did come back in, it was funny little cameo appearances and then more lay-offs,” Wilkinson told reporters at England’s training base here on Thursday.

“There’s something about being back in an environment which is all about the players and getting the best out of them. It’s an amazing feeling. You always hope to get in an environment like this for England.

“The attention to detail and infrastructure creates a great feeling. You get flashbacks to a few years when we were in this hotel before the 2003 World Cup.

“It’s got that good feeling about it.”

Wilkinson’s move to Toulon from English Premiership side Newcastle, the only club he’d previously represented as a professional, has revitalised a player whose career looked to be shuddering to a halt because of a horrendous recent run of injuries.

Having fully recovered from a dislocated kneecap that ruled him out of action for 10 months, he has helped turn the southern French outfit from Top 14 relegation candidates into play-off possibles.

And Wilkinson is delighted with how things have turned out in France.

“It’s been a hell of an experience, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s been a real challenge joining a new team.

“That’s something I’ve not really done before, bar the international stage and the odd (British and Irish) Lions experience.

“Going into a new team and really having to get hold of other players, get the best out of them and then link things together, with a different culture, has been really valuable.

“The most valuable part of it has been that, finding connections between things, getting a feel for how the game is going, where it’s going and how to win it.

“After being out for 10 months with the knee injury, that has been the real challenge. It’s been a bit of a blessing experiencing that as a preparation for being in a squad like this.”

Earlier this week, Johnson named a much revised 32-man squad after seeing 12 players succumb to injury, including his entire first-choice front row.

The former England captain is confident, however, his new-look group can produce the goods against their southern hemisphere opponents, and insists the spate of injuries cannot be used as an excuse.

“This is as bad a run (of injuries) as there has been. But you can’t dwell on it too much,” Johnson said.

“We have talked about cutting down in training – maybe you can go that way, but by training physically maybe you get more resistant to it.

“If you cut down in training maybe you’re leaving yourself more open when it comes to the Saturday,” the former lock added. “There’s always a balance to be had and people choose their own way of doing it.”

Johnson revealed halfback Danny Care is the latest player in his squad to sustain a knock but does not consider him a doubt for the Australia match on Saturday week.

© AAP 2012

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