News: Andy Robinson yesterday installed Jonny Wilkinson as his captain for next month's internationals at Twickenham and appeared to cement his own position at the same time.
Though Wilkinson was the favourite to be named as Lawrence Dallaglio's successor for the forthcoming Tests against Canada, South Africa and Australia, the timing of the announcement would appear to be significant for Robinson given his status as acting head coach.
It would now be bizarre for the Rugby Football Union to choose anyone other than him to fill the vacancy left by Clive Woodward's departure and now the 25-year-old Wilkinson is in pole position to lead England until at least the next World Cup in 2007.
As England's record points-scorer with 817 points in 52 Tests, Wilkinson has a habit of achieving most goals he sets himself and he has nurtured an ambition to be England captain since he was a boy.
He has done the job only once, in the 40-5 home win over Italy in 2003 when Martin Johnson was injured, but Robinson is convinced the Newcastle co-captain is the outstanding candidate for the job.
"There are several players in the squad I would feel comfortable in calling upon but, for me, Jonny is in every way the right player to take on this challenge," said Robinson.
"He is a natural leader, holds the respect of the whole squad, is a formidable talent on the pitch and consistently demonstrates the energy and commitment I feel is essential to be captain of England."
More pertinently, Robinson also feels any doubts over Wilkinson's form since he returned from shoulder surgery in August are outweighed by the longer-term benefits he can bring as a captain, albeit one cast in a different mould to his two predecessors.
Wilkinson could hardly have agreed to take the reins at a more challenging time, given England's World Cup success has been followed by numerous retirements and five defeats in the team's past six outings. Any misgivings, however, have been eclipsed by brimming excitement.
"It is the ambition of so many players to be captain of England and today I have realised a dream," said Wilkinson. "I am honoured Andy wants me to be his captain and to follow Lawrence and Martin means a lot. Taking on the captaincy is another important step in my career and I do so with immense pride."
If all goes well, the captaincy of the Lions on next summer's tour to New Zealand under Woodward's stewardship may also fall to the quietly spoken perfectionist.
Johnson was among the first to wish him luck. "Jonny is Jonny and will do it his way but it's about the team and the core of this team has been around for four or five years," said Johnson. "If the guys are not behind you, you've got no chance but the good thing about this England team is that there's a lot of pride and togetherness."
