Jonny Wilkinson's finest display in an England shirt has had the pundits comparing him with the great fly-halves of the past – Barry John, Phil Bennett, Jackie Kyle amongst them.

The former Farnham player's prodigious kicking skills and shrewd tactical brain were well known. It was Wilkinson's audacious running, complete with shimmies and sidesteps, that mesmerised the Irish and had the commentators in raptures. He also scored a try and kicked six conversions and a penalty.

His father, Phil Wilkinson, watching the game from the north stand at Twickenham, confessed to some "spine- tingling moments," but tended to be as downbeat as his son.

"I think he enjoyed it for 60 minutes," he grunted, implying that Wilkinson, after a first half of near perfection, had been disappointed to miss a tackle on Irish try-scorer Ronan O'Gara.

"He plays like that for Newcastle, but doesn't often cut loose for England. This time he was able to get wide and he had plenty of space to exploit.

"There's no doubt that Jonny wants to be a more all-round player. He's seen what Jason Robinson has been able to do and it's made a difference. Now we see the sidesteps and jinks."

He believes that Jonny has benefited from one-on-one training with his brother, Mark, no mean player himself, who coaches at the Newcastle U/21 Academy. Steve Black, Newcastle's fitness trainer, has helped hone Wilkinson's game to its sharpest cutting edge.

Wilkinson Snr, a Farnham man, but a stalwart of Alton RFC for many years, instilled a love of rugby in his sons, and oversaw the younger Jonny's rise through Farnham minis, schools rugby with Pierrepont and Lord Wandsworth College (where he was spotted by Steve Bates), Hampshire juniors, the England 18 Group, and finally to a professional contract with Rob Andrew's Newcastle.

With Jonny, not yet 23, now a seasoned international, having scored an amazing 485 points from 32 appearances, does his father look back with some disbelief on what his son has achieved in the space of a mere four years?

"You have to pinch yourself sometimes, especially when you're watching at Twickenham. Knowing about his approach and dedication, I always felt he had a fair chance of making it.

"The meteoric rise from when he was 18 was a surprise. I thought it would be a more gradual progress. The World Cup probably came a year too early, but he always works at his game. He wants to be the complete player."

And the future? "Jonny is contracted to Newcastle until July next year and he's very happy there. He loves the place and the people."