Wilkinson nears England farewell

Jonny Wilkinson placed an expiry date on his international career on Monday by signing a new two-year contract extension with French club Toulon. Alex Lowe has more...

The Rugby Football Union wrote to the whole England squad last month announcing their “absolute intention” to only pick players from domestic clubs following the 2011 World Cup.

But 31-year-old Wilkinson, who was recently voted the best overseas player in the French Top 14, has decided to commit himself to Toulon until the summer of 2013.

In an ideal world, Wilkinson would like to continue playing for both Toulon and England after next autumn’s World Cup in New Zealand.

For that to happen, England would have to back down from their hard-line stance and claim Wilkinson qualified as an “exceptional circumstance”.

But there was no indication from Twickenham yesterday that Wilkinson would automatically be considered a special case just because of his standing in the game. That means that Wilkinson has signalled the imminent end to an international career that dates back to 1998 and includes the 2003 World Cup triumph and two Lions tours.

The news was confirmed in a typically understated way, with just a brief statement issued on the Toulon website.

Wilkinson scored 302 points during his first season with Toulon, helping Philippe Saint-Andre’s side to reach the final of the Amlin Challenge Cup, where they lost to Cardiff Blues, and the Top 14 semi-finals.

He has been similarly impressive so far this campaign, helping Toulon to the top of a testing Heineken Cup pool which includes Munster, Ospreys and London Irish.

The RFU will seek clarification from Wilkinson’s representatives that his contract contains full international release clauses, should they decide to call on him as an “exceptional circumstance”.

That course of action could potentially open a can of worms for the RFU, given Stade Francais flanker James Haskell is also out of contract this summer.

If Haskell returns to the Premiership in order to conform to the RFU’s wishes, England would find it difficult to explain any continued selection of Wilkinson from the south of France.

Rugby Players’ Union chief executive Damian Hopley recently warned that England’s stance on not selecting players based abroad could be challenged under European law.

The RFU have taken the decision to select from domestic clubs only in order to improve England’s chances of winning the 2015 World Cup on home soil.