Toulon give Wilkinson contract deadline
England hero Jonny Wilkinson has apparently been given until the middle of April by Toulon to decide on whether he will play for them next season or not.

Wilkinson is said to be still weighing up leaving Newcastle which is the only professional club he has ever known in return for the fortunes being offered in France.

Toulon are however close to finalising their expensively assembled squad for next season and director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre wants an answer soon.
“I am trying to sign one or two good high-profile players and Jonny Wilkinson is one of those.”

“In the next two or three weeks we will know if he is coming,” Saint-Andre told the Daily Express.

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Honorary doctorate for rugby star Wilkinson
RUGBY World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson OBE has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Surrey.

The England fly-half and inside centre received his doctorate for services to the sports industry at Guildford Cathedral.

The Surrey-born star also took a look around the new Surrey Sports Park, which is currently being built on the university’s Manor Park campus.

Wilkinson said: “It’s a real privilege for me and I do feel very honoured to have received an honorary degree from the University of Surrey.

“I missed going to university as initially I had a place set for me but rugby took over.

“I’d always wished it was something I could do at that age.”

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Jonny Wilkinson’s dash for Lions place doomed

Jonny Wilkinson’s hopes of making the Lions tour to South Africa this summer have been all but extinguished. The England fly half had hoped that his injured left kneecap would mend in time to allow him to resume playing this month and compete for a Lions place, but a further delay to his comeback means that he will not play again before the Lions squad is announced.

Newcastle Falcons, his club, have two matches, on the next two weekends, before the Lions squad is named at a Heathrow hotel on April 21. Wilkinson will be left off the teamsheet for the Falcons’ European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Saracens on Easter Day and it is extremely doubtful that he will be fit even to make the replacements for their game against Bath the next Saturday.

Ian McGeechan, the Lions head coach, has been extremely clear that he will be selecting on form and not reputation. Wilkinson’s form guide consists of 3 games back in the early autumn and, unless McGeechan completely alters the selection policy for the ten-match tour, which begins on May 30, his hopes are doomed.

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Wilkinson no nearer comeback – Bates

onny Wilkinson looks unlikely to make a comeback for Newcastle in time to be considered for this summer’s Lions tour to South Africa.

Wilkinson, out since dislocating his knee last September, failed to make the 32-13 European Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat at Saracens and Falcons rugby director Steve Bates does not expect him to figure in their last two Guinness Premiership matches.

“We’re still working hard to try and rehabilitate that knee and make sure that things are progressing but time is running out for him to get back on the field,” he said.

“We haven’t been able to get him back to do a full week’s training and that has to be the bare minimum before we think about putting him on the field.

“The difficulty is this Lions trip is going to be really hard and physical.

“If you are not absolutely on your game you are going to get exposed in South Africa.

“We’ve got two more games this season and there’s no guarantee he will play in either.

“If I was the Lions coach I’d be very concerned about that lack of rugby. He’s a class player and you’ve got to take that into consideration but the poor guy hasn’t played since September.

“It would be tough then to ask him to go and play against the South Africans in full flow.”

Source The Press Association

Jonny Wilkinson’s transfer from Newcastle to Toulon is in its final stages. Weeks of negotiations are expected to result in confirmation of his departure within a fortnight, despite the fact that his contract has another season to run.

Tom May’s blinding form at fly-half has left the club in no need to rush Wilkinson back after knee surgery.