I just read an interview Wilkinson gave Rugbyrama, a main French Rugby website; the first one he's given since his retirement and Toulon's ***le, as he isn't the most talkative as we all know and prefers discretion.
Interestingly, he talked about the emotional side of playing in his career and said the following:
it wasn't always really a pleasure, especially since the 2003 season. After winning the World Cup, the top of the mountain, he went so high early in his career basically that he never really felt the same kind of hunger later, the same will to climb up again, but rather just a fear of falling down; in a seemingly accidental metaphor from his part. He said that's the reason he sort of never really smiled or looked satisfied, it felt like at the end of the day it was just a relief he didn't fall down on his face. He said he felt constantly stressed and under pressure. What a man...
I find it absolutely glorious that he would admit this, as it's the inside of his mind and he could've just never mentioned and everybody, including myself, would've just assumed he was mentally indestructible. For a man of his caliber, both on and off the field and what he's done 'on', to admit this like he's just the next regular bloke...beautiful.
He even says he looks back on his career, and his numerous injuries, and felt like it was "a loss of a part of" his life. He apparently adopted a more 'spiritual' approach, trying Buddhism; but ultimately, on the field, the pressure was still there and always found him no matter what.
He says he didn't always have it in his mind to become a coach, but that given the enormous amount of experience he's learned it would've been, I quote, "a mistake" not to instill it onto others, implying he'd be almost lazy and selfish not to share all that and transmit the knowledge. So again, it doesn't even seem like he's doing it as a spontaneous self-fulfilling project, but rather as a deed, the necessary right thing to do; for others. He's therefor still very much the same team-player Jonny Wilko, but will wear a different shirt in the hierarchy is all...
Finally, it's interesting earlier in the interview when asked how he'll deal with this new coming life, away from the pitch, he says: the hardest thing will probably be not waking up early in the morning and going to the field and kicking balls for a couple of hours. It was his way of reflecting on his life, he called it "therapeutic" for him. Now, his calling is helping others with their Rugby.
