Wilkinson not ready to walk away

Danny Cipriani's sparkling first full cap - scoring 18 of his side's points in the 33-10 win over Ireland on Saturday - was in stark contrast to Wilkinson's miserable showing in the defeat by Scotland a week earlier.

But the World Cup-winning hero of five years ago has no intention of walking off into the sunset now he is no longer the holder of the number 10 jersey and said: "Playing anywhere on that field will be fantastic and I think my big challenge is the same as every day - find the best of me."

After coming on as substitute at inside centre he was quickly involved in the move which brought a try for Mathew Tait and looked perfectly at home in the position as England went further away from the flagging Irish over the closing stages.

Wilkinson admitted a place on the bench is "not ideal by any stretch of the imagination when you want something a helluva lot".

But he added: "But it's been an interesting way of looking at things and there's a lot to learn for me.

"You could see what a difference a fresh approach makes with Danny. He reacted instinctively with a mentality that said 'I'm here to have fun and make this my day and my team's day'.

"If I had lost any pride I might have said 'Who is this kid?', but that's not me.

"Do you kick up a fuss, shout at meetings, set other people wake-up calls at four in the morning?"

Not if your name is Jonny Wilkinson and he did not even mind that Cipriani kept the kicking duties when they were both on the pitch saying: Danny has deserved his go and he took it brilliantly. Every day is a learning experience and I'm at a different angle now watching from the sidelines."