Toulon and former England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson could still be involved with the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, according to Rob Howley.
Wilkinson retired from Test rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but his impressive form for the Top 14 side has led to many calls for him to tour with the Lions next year, 12 years on from his first Lions tour to Australia back in 2001.
Despite the Top 14 Final falling on the same day as the Lions' first fixture against the Barbarians in Hong Kong, Lions assistant coach Howley has not ruled out Wilkinson's inclusion.
"He (Wilkinson) is playing in a good team at Toulon, who are going pretty well in the Heineken Cup, and Warren has said that all players who are in contention will be looked at," said Howley.
"I'm sure Toulon will be in the quarter-finals and they are the games you need to be playing - quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Heineken Cup, if you're not playing international rugby. We have to see the players under pressure in those sorts of situations."
Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton and England's Toby Flood and Owen Farrell are the current front-runners for the role, with Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland now expected to miss out after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Heineken Cup last weekend.
"I enjoyed Sexton's performances during the autumn series, and the likes of Owen (Farrell) and Toby (Flood). They are all different styles of 10 and there will be a lot of analysis on those players in the next three or four months," added Howley.
"It's competition, and that's what brings the best out of them. None of them have been on a Lions tour, so it will be interesting to watch them under the microscope during a Six Nations, in a Lions year. Particularly as a No 10, a key ingredient in performances is how they react under pressure."
Comments
Irishzimbabwean says...
Guys - Wilkinson was dreadful at RWC 2011. Flood should have started. His day is gone with ref to the Lions. Let him continue his well earned swansong at Toulon. But not Lions standard anymore.
Posted 08:46 15th December 2012
trelawney says...
@Chubbylugs - I agree with you, Leinster_goy seems to be living in the past. What happened in the past happened, it has got nothing to do with the years 2012-2013.
Posted 18:49 13th December 2012
Chubbylugs says...
@leinster_goy
You would seriously consider an incident in a game 12 years ago as a factor for selection now? Well he won a World Cup 2 years later, i suppose that's equally irrelevant, but if you want to go on the most recent form 10 years ago he's a shoe in
Posted 17:00 13th December 2012
99call says...
this is like saying Chris Masoe is up for selection for the ABs, hes playing top rugby in the Top 14 but it doesnt mean hes on the internation radar, the Lions coaching team are not going to rule anyone out or in at this stage so I just wish the journos would stop jumping on every statement
Posted 16:24 13th December 2012
leinster_goy says...
this is misguided for a number of reasons:
good top 14 form is hardly a reliable indicator of readiness for test rugby. look at jerome porical - kicked like clockwork for perpignan for many years, but was banished from the french national team after 4 caps. in fact, the last time i saw him in a france shirt was in autumn 2010 against the wallabies...how did that turn out again? romain teulet has kicked more top 14 points than wilkinson ever will, but it has always been obvious that he is not test rugby standard
maybe not the best comparison, because wilkinson is clearly a class player with undeniable international pedigree. but my main point is that after 3 years in france, with hardly any test rugby in that period, he would be way off the pace. also, the Lions have a distinct playing ethos which is millions of miles from the way toulonchester city play. can you see a 34-year old wilkinson igniting a backline of north/bowe/cuthbert/kearney/tuilagi/visser/davies/halfpenny? ha!
it should also be mentioned that, in my recollection, wilkinson played a huge role in handing the 2001 series to the wallabies (colin charvis' moment of madness notwithstanding). in the 2nd test, when the Lions were comfortably in front, he threw a hospital pass straight to joe roff who ran in a try, thus sparking a ferocious australian fightback. in the 3rd test, he missed 3 getable kicks - including a straightforward one in the final quarter when it was 23-23 and when the Lions had a man advantage. many people seem to have forgotten about that
Posted 14:51 13th December 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Wilko could go as kicking coach. With either Goode or Hook in squad they can take just 2 10s: Sexton and Burns. If one gets injured Wilko is with the squad.
Posted 14:39 13th December 2012