I didn't fear the axe, says Jonny as he bids to learn from Wales farce

On a day when England were forced into a late change after losing Andrew Sheridan because of a blood infection, their reprieved stand off left no doubt that he is still the man to be calling the shots against Italy in Rome on Sunday.

'No, definitely not,' replied Wilkinson when asked if he thought he might be dropped in response to the 26-19 loss to Wales.

'I don't want to be here if I am not the right person for the job or if I can't help the rest of the team. At the moment I'm glad to have that opportunity.'

The issue had suddenly reared its head because of what Brian Ashton called 'six minutes of madness' against Wales, not that the head coach had any hesitation in backing Wilkinson.

'He is still the best man — knee-jerk reactions are not part of my make-up,' said an angry Ashton.

'We've not hidden from pointing out all the mistakes to the people who made them, but he has made fewer than other people.

'Others have to take responsibility, too. It's not a one-man game.'

Wilkinson, arguably the most automatic selection in any team playing any code of football since Pele called it a day with Brazil, readily acknowledged his culpability in England's demented version of the Keystone Kops.

'I'm sure it could have happened to me numerous times,' he said on the subject of being dropped. 'I've been very fortunate to have been involved in some great and interesting things.

'I've had some incredible experiences, like being beaten 76-0 in Australia and being dropped for the quarter-finals of the World Cup (in 1999).

'I wouldn't swap those things for the world. They all happen for a reason. As long as I gave the best I can, there is nothing to fear.

'I am well aware that there are some fantastic players in the squad like Charlie Hodgson and Shane Geraghty who are not getting picked and who add so much selflessly for the benefit of the team as a whole.

'I am doing the best I can. If it's not good enough and there is someone better then it's not fair for that person, or for me, to be here.'

Wilkinson did not sound like a condemned man who had been given a last shot at redemption.

'I want to go out there at the weekend and see whether I have grown from the last experience,' he said.

'I've dealt with last Saturday's experience exactly as I wanted to.

'I didn't need to spend much time sitting in a dark corner to know that some things could have been done differently. You know that instantaneously.'

His wild pass which fell way behind Danny Cipriani highlighted England's predicament.

Wales duly turned the consequent scrum platform into the first of their try one-two which left England spreadeagled over the ropes.

Wilkinson added: 'I have thrown thousands of passes in my time and never one like that. It created more pressure instead of retrieving the situation.

'I would be some sort of miracle worker if I said it wasn't something which didn't get to me.

'The thing which makes me anxious nowadays is watching the video on Monday morning and seeing something you could have done better which you weren't aware of.

'This Monday it was a case of looking at the video to see yourself doing something wrong which you knew you had done wrong at the time.

'It still hurts. Those six minutes which completely changed the game came from a series of basic errors.'

The loss of Mike Tindall and the substitution of Phil Vickery added to the general confusion. Only a matter of seconds separated Vickery's departure from Mike Phillips' acrobatic touchdown in the left corner.

'We lost our captain (Vickery) and vice-captain (Tindall) and I became captain, more or less, with Steve Borthwick,' said Wilkinson.

'I was told I was captain, officially, just as we were coming out from under the posts after conceding the final try. It made absolutely no difference to what I was doing.'

Sheridan's replacement Tim Payne, who missed the World Cup following knee surgery within weeks of his last Test against Wales 11 months ago, is not as mobile as the Sale giant but England ought not to suffer any loss of power in the scrum.

The Wasps loosehead, a native of Swindon who studied agriculture before turning professional, has held his own against some of the best tightheads in Europe.