JONNY AT 40
A FAMILIAR SETTING , a very different man.
Pennyhill Park has been England’s training base for nearly two decades, making it something of a home from home for Jonny Wilkinson when he was on international duty. Today he’s back at the Surrey hotel, but without the red rose-branded kit that would once have been his uniform or any other rugby accoutrements. And that is not all that has changed.
As Wilkinson spends the next 40 minutes sitting outside in the spring sunshine to answer Rugby World’s questions, it is clear his entire outlook on life has flipped, done a 180, since the days rugby boots would have been his most common footwear.
It’s five years since Wilkinson retired, bringing to an end a playing career that saw him don the shirts of Toulon, Newcastle, England and the Lions, as well as lift trophies including the European Cup, the Top 14’s Bouclier de Brennus, the
