Wilkinson calls for perfection against All Blacks

LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff.co.nz

BIG CALL: England rugby star Jonny Wilkison trains ahead of the test against the All Blacks in which he said his teammates will need to concentrate throughout to have any chance of winning.

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The perfectionist is calling for perfection at Twickenham this weekend. Jonny Wilkinson figures that may be just be what it takes to topple the All Blacks.

England's comeback kid, the now vastly experienced five-eighth who's been revived by his spell playing for Tana Umaga's Toulon in the south of France, knows just how difficult it's going to be for this England team to break out of their highly publicised funk and end a six-year losing streak at the hands of the New Zealanders.

"It takes pretty much everything you've got and pretty much every minute of the game," he said of the effort that will be required.

"It's why sport at this level is so incredible. You need to concentrate from the first to the 85th minute, you need to make big decisions, you need to follow the plan and you need to trust the guys around you.

"And that doesn't guarantee you anything. It just guarantees you the opportunity to play and see where that takes you. It's why it's so exciting – the guys have got a great opportunity to find out where we are as a team."

England manager Martin Johnson pulled one surprise by dropping Shane Geraghty and replacing him with big Nigerian-born Biarritz centre Ayoola Erinle at No 12, which tends to indicate the under-siege home side might just to look to play more ball in hand than usual.

There's also a return for veteran lock, and Lions series hero, Simon Shaw (for Louis Deacon) and the hard-nosed Joe Worsley gets the nod over Tom Craft on the flank.

In the back three there's a reshuffle, with Mark Cueto moving to fullback and Ugo Monye switching to the wing.

Wilkinson, speaking at the England's team's media day at their swanky hotel in the Surrey countryside, shrugged off the media pressure that's come on to the team after a couple of flat performances, but was happy to talk up his All Black opposite Dan Carter.

"The feeling inside the camp is that the guys want to show why they've been picked for their country," said the 2003 World Cup-winner who's notoriously inner-focused and probably hasn't been paying much mind to the swathe of criticism of the team in the country's print media.

The press are positively baying for blood after England opened with defeat to the Wallabies and then were booed during their unimpressive victory over Argentina last Saturday.

"The frustration comes from guys not being able to get to their strengths and get to show them on the field.

"The guys, certainly after last weekend's game (a highly criticised 16-9 win over an under-strength Argentina), are feeling like we've got more to show than that. The great thing about rugby is, whether it's for your club or your country, there's always another chance to go out there."

Wilkinson, though, admitted he's an unabashed admirer of his All Blacks opposite Carter.

"Is he one of the most skilful player there's ever been? Without a doubt. The other thing is off the field he seems like a genuinely nice guy, and when you're trying to play against them that's not always the best thing," said the man rated the greatest England No 10 of all time.

"He's smart, he's switched on and he's obviously a deep enough character to take on things like big injuries, and to challenge himself by moving to France. He's got the personality and the character and the skills and without a doubt he's got the faith of his team. That's a nice position to be in."

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