LEADING England out at Twickenham for the Six Nations match against Italy on Sunday will be a magical moment for Farnham's Jonny Wilkinson and his family.
But Rob Andrew, his director of rugby at Newcastle, is not altogether impressed with the move. "There's a danger of putting too much pressure on Jonny," warned Andrew who speaks from his experience as a former long-serving England fly-half. "He will cope, as ever, but it's probably something he could do without for the time being.
"He has enough on his plate as it is. Jonny has to run the show from fly-half and also deal with his goal-kicking. I don't think people appreciate how draining and emotional goal-kicking can be. There is now massive expectation on Jonny every time he goes out to play for England. He's expected to score points."
Although Wilkinson has captained Newcastle this season, Andrew says leading England is completely different. "He'll love to do it, and he'll want to do it well, and one day he will grow into it. He probably won't thank me for saying it, but at the moment the captaincy could be a bit of a burden."
Wilkinson, 23, will only be filling in for Martin Johnson, who is rested with a slight injury, but it was generally expected that either Lawrence Dallaglio or Matt Dawson, both former captains, would take over. Dallaglio is named vice-captain.
England coach Clive Woodward said: "This is a huge honour for Jonny. He's been vice-captain for a number of internationals, captained Newcastle, and I know it's a challenge he will relish."
Jonny Wilkinson MBE played schoolboy rugby for Pierrepont and Lord Wandsworth College, having first taken up the game at Farnham RFC, and signed for Newcastle as a professional at just 18.
"Of course, the responsibility is huge, but I don't intend to do anything different," he said. "I'll be preparing for the game as I normally do with Newcastle."