Jonny Wilkinson loves having his brains picked as England's unofficial advisor

Jonny Wilkinson has spoken publicly for the first time about his involvement with the England team and says he loves being an unofficial advisor to the side, writes Julian Bennetts.

Wilkinson uses the same gym as the England team at their Pennyhill Park training base and has revealed he speaks to individuals if he feels they need a confidence boost.

Centre Henry Slade has detailed the influence Wilkinson has had on him but the star of England’s 2003 World Cup-winning side says most of his contact is with assistant coach Mike Catt — who used to advise the former No10 when he was considering bringing the curtain down on his England career.

“I go there (Pennyhill Park) pretty much every day because that is my gym where I train,” said Wilkinson, who was speaking on the night he was inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame.

“I train at the other end of the hotel to the guys and occasionally we cross paths, shake a few hands but nothing really more than that.

“When I do cross paths with Mike Catt or (England’s other assistant coach) Andy Farrell we tend to chat a bit longer, which is great because I feel quite important as they keep me up to date with how things are going and I feel, ‘woah, it’s like being involved again’.

“It has been great speaking to Catty. He picks my brains, which is a real honour as it was what I did to him for a long, long time especially after he finished playing.

“I spoke to him when I went through some of the more troubled times with England in the 09-10 era. I spoke to him on the phone a lot.

“I spoke to Catty for a long time when I was considering retirement from internationals. I was asking his advice from the outside, where did he think I was going? I needed that.

“So for him to pick my brains on the occasional thing, especially around certain parts of the game and certain things is awesome — I feel I am giving something.”