Wilkinson out of England training camp
Toulon scrum-half Jonny Wilkinson has been left out of an England training camp, which will meet at Twickenham ahead of the autumn test matches.
It seems that Wilkinson did not do enough towards the back end of last season with Toulon to feature in Martin Johnson's immediate plans. He has also struggled in recent times with injury that has kept him out of both international and French domestic rugby.
The England team now features a generation of younger players such as Toby Flood who have come in to the side and done very well. This has made it difficult for players like Wilkinson to feature in Johnson's immediate plans.
Wilkinson's absence will mean that the side are missing an experienced and high quality player. However, Johnson says this is simply a case of the side moving on.
A quality player
Wilkinson has been a quality player in the world of rugby for a long time. He has played 80 times for England and scored 1111 points in the process. These are statistics that not all rugby players enjoy and they prove how successful Wilkinson has been in the sport.
Wilkinson clearly has a great deal of experience and this is key in high pressure situations. The World Cup of next summer is looming so all international matches up to that point will mean the England team will be put under intense pressure.
Wilkinson has the ability to help ease that pressure, which would allow the more flamboyant members of the team to have an effect. His kicking means that England will always be in touch with the opposition even if they aren't playing well during a game.
Johnson said: "We believe that these have been the right decisions to take after close and amicable consultation with the clubs concerned. We will continue to have regular contact and, subject to fitness, look forward to seeing all of the players when we meet again at the end of October ahead of the Investec internationals."
Moving on
It is impossible to expect Wilkinson to play forever and Johnson dropping him from the training camp squad is not an indication that his quality has declined, it's an indication that England have moved on.
Toby Flood has done very well in the kicking role for England so far in his short career. He's been slightly less effective than Wilkinson but his 85 points in 31 games shows that he can be versatile and do a job in a game for England.
There are very few sides in the history of rugby who have kept faith with high scoring players simply for the sake of their statistics. The World Cup next year looks as though it's going to be more intense than ever before and England need to take a step forward instead of going back to the same players.
Betting advice
There is little doubt that Wilkinson has been the most assured kicker in world rugby but England have played well without him for a long time. They did well in the Southern Hemisphere and won their last test match against Australia.
Right now England are an outside bet for the World Cup next year. They need to show off and perform during the autumn tests in order to show they are an improving side capable of beating anyone in the game. There will be no tougher test than the All Blacks.
Flood is a good candidate to back in games. His kicking is not bad by any means and gets him a lot of points over the course of a match, which means he'll always be a candidate to score the most points.
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