• English Rugby

Wilkinson signs new deal with Toulon

ESPNscrum Staff
December 27, 2010
Jonny Wilkinson has been in impressive form for Toulon this season © Getty Images
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England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has signed a new two-year contract that will keep him at Toulon until the summer of 2013, the French Top 14 club have confirmed.

The 31-year-old had been widely expected to extend his stay in the south of France after making a major impact following his move from Newcastle in the summer of 2009.

However, the decision puts him at odds with the Rugby Football Union's stance that England will not pick any players plying their trade overseas following the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

Wilkinson scored 302 points during his first season with Toulon, helping Philippe Saint-Andre's side to reach the final of the Amlin Challenge Cup, where they lost to Cardiff Blues in Marseille, as well as the semi-finals of the Top 14.

The 86-cap half-back has been similarly impressive so far this campaign, helping the French side to the top of a testing Heineken Cup pool which includes Munster, Ospreys and London Irish.

He was voted the best overseas player in the French league at the end of last month and Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal had previously stated his desire to keep England's 2003 World Cup hero "at any price".

While he has flourished in France, Wilkinson has dropped to second-choice behind Toby Flood in the England pecking order, and has not started a Test for his country since the Six Nations draw with Scotland in March after a shoulder injury kept him out of last month's autumn internationals.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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