Born May 25, 1979; Frimley, Surrey, England

PLAYING CAREER

* Joined Newcastle Falcons in 1997 at age of 18 as an inside center.

* Made his England debut as a replacement against Ireland at Twickenham in April 1998.

* Part of the England "Tour to Hell" side in 1998 when it was thrashed by both Australia and New Zealand.

* Made his World Cup debut in 1999, but dropped by then-coach Clive Woodward for the losing quarterfinal against South Africa.

* Toured twice with the British and Irish Lions. In 2001 he equalled the best individual total in a test with 18 points against Australia.

* Voted 2002 International Player of the Year.

* Helped England to a grand slam in the 2003 Six Nations Championship, captaining the side against Italy.

* Scored the winning drop goal in the last minute of extra time in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final victory over Australia in Sydney.

* Played for England in the 2007 World Cup final in Paris, which it lost to South Africa.

* Joined French club Toulon in 2009.

* Was on England squad at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, where his kicking was wayward. He missed an unprecedented five successive penalties in opening win over Argentina.

* Last England match was the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to France.

* Retired having won 91 England caps, scoring six tries for his country, 162 conversions and 239 penalties.

* He is second behind New Zealand's Dan Carter on the all-time test scoring list with 1,246 points.

* He is the leading drop goal scorer in international rugby with 36.

INJURIES

* After the 2003 World Cup triumph, injuries kept Wilkinson out of the England side until the 2007 Six Nations.

* Missed England's 2009 Six Nations campaign while recovering from surgery on a dislocated kneecap.

Reuters

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