Wilkinson not keen to farewell Twickenham

Jonny Wilkinson could be making his final England appearance at Twickenham in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against Wales – and it’s not a prospect the outside-half likes one little bit.

England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) have said that after the World Cup only players based with English clubs will be selected for Test duty, in which case Wilkinson, who plays for French side Toulon, could be entering the final phase of his stellar England career.

However, after attempting to introduce a similar policy a few years ago, only to end up selecting players at French clubs for England internationals, the RFU have left themselves with a get-out “exceptional circumstances” clause.

And such is the administrative chaos at the top of the English game’s governing body, currently without both a permanent chairman and full-time chief executive, the rule may yet be abandoned.

The 32-year-old Wilkinson, England’s record points-scorer and second only to New Zealand playmaker Dan Carter in the all-time international list, certainly has no desire to say goodbye to the Twickenham faithful this weekend.

“To have been on that field so many times and have experienced all the highs and lows has been amazing,” he said.

“The thought of not having it any more is not one I wish to consider. It is a difficult situation. You don’t want to deal with that kind of emotion.”

Wilkinson, who kicked the drop-goal that sealed England’s victory against Australia in the 2003 final in Sydney, is preparing for his fourth World Cup.

But he does not see next month’s tournament in New Zealand as the end of his Test career, one in which he has amassed 91 caps – 85 for England and six for the British and Irish Lions.

Above all, he hates the idea that his international career could be cut short not by loss of form or injury but by his choice of club.

“I don’t like this idea of restriction. I always want to have that open-ended feel to my career. I always like to keep doors open and if I can keep improving, I will keep doing that until someone shuts that door,” said Wilkinson.

“If I am playing in a way where people feel I need to be involved then great – if not, I will just be doing it for Toulon.”

Wilkinson has been a firm fans’ favourite at Twickenham since making his debut off the bench against Ireland in 1998.

Recently he has found himself back among the replacements with Toby Flood, once his deputy at Newcastle, having taken possession of the England No.10 shirt since the end of the 2010 Six Nations.

But Wilkinson has been chosen by England manager Martin Johnson, his captain at the 2003 World Cup, to start on Saturday and for the fly-half the thrill of playing at Twickenham has not dimmed with the passing of the years.