Jon Wilkin

Jon David Wilkin (born 1 November 1983), also known by the nicknames of "Wilko" or "Jean Jean", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a second-row, loose forward, scrum-half and stand-off for St Helens in the Super League, the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Championship and Betfred Super League and Hull Kingston Rovers in the Northern Ford Premiership.[3][4] He played for England and Great Britain at international level.[6][5]

Jon Wilkin
Personal information
Full nameJon David Wilkin[1]
Born (1983-11-01) 1 November 1983[2]
Kingston upon Hull, Humberside, England
Playing information
Height5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)[2]
Weight14 st 13 lb (95 kg)[2]
PositionSecond-row, Loose forward, Stand-off, Scrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2001–02 Hull Kingston Rovers 25 7 0 1 1
2002–18 St Helens 404 92 0 2 370
2019–20 Toronto Wolfpack 32 3 0 0 12
Total 461 102 0 3 383
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–11 England 10 1 0 0 4
2006–07 Great Britain 6 0 0 0 0
Source: [3][4][5][6]

Background

Wilkin was born in Kingston upon Hull, Humberside, England.

Playing career

Hull Kingston Rovers

Wilkin started his career at Hull Kingston Rovers .[7] He made his debut for the club in 2002 which was also his only season at his boyhood club as he signed for Super League club St. Helens for Super League VIII in 2003.

St Helens

Wilkin soon broke into the first team and has been dubbed by some as one of the most promising running backs in the game. By the age of 24, Wilkin had impressed many and played in some high octane matches. Wilkin was called in to the Tri Nations squad in 2005 but did not feature in the competition.

However, the 2006 season was a new high point in Jon's career. He was a key member of the treble-winning team as Saints won the 2006 Challenge Cup where he played with a broken nose. St Helens reached the 2006 Super League Grand final to be contested against Hull FC, and Wilkin played at second-row in Saints' 26–4 victory. He was included in the 25-man squad for the 2006 Tri-Nations Tour of Australia and New Zealand. Wilkin made his international début from the bench at the Aussie Stadium, Sydney on 4 November 2006 against Australia. He came off the bench in two further games in that series, the first against New Zealand in Wellington, and the second against Australia in Brisbane. The icing on the cake for Wilkin and St. Helens came when they won the BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year Team of the Year award, with Daniel Anderson taking the Best Coach honour.[8] Wilkin (L) was recognised for his good season by being named in the 2006 Super League Dream Team.[9] As 2006 Super League champions, St Helens faced 2006 NRL Premiers the Brisbane Broncos in the 2007 World Club Challenge. Wilkin played at loose forward in the Saints' 18–14 victory. Jon was awarded community volunteer of 2008 at a ceremony in Manchester. Jon said of his achievement "All those hours of helping others is part of my job". Jon went on to thank, amongst others, author Rudyard Kipling whose poem 'If' is a prominent influence in his life.

He played in 2008's Super League XIII Grand Final defeat by Leeds.[10] Wilkin was selected for the England squad to compete in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament in Australia.[11] Group A's first match against Papua New Guinea he played from the interchange bench in England's victory.

He played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

He played in the 2011 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[24][25]

Toronto Wolfpack

Wilkin ended his long association with St Helens and signed for Toronto Wolfpack ahead of the 2019 season.

In July 2020 Wilkin announced that he would retire at the end of the 2020 season[26]

Personal life

Wilkin won The Observer's first Community Champion Award.[27]

In January 2012, it was announced that Wilkin was to be the first chairman of the newly founded Players' Association; League 13.[28]

In 2015 Wilkin opened an independent coffee shop in partnership with former St Helens team mate Mark Flanagan in Manchester city centre.[29]

In 2018, Wilkin married British Olympian Fran Halsall

References
  1. "Jonathan David Wilkin". Companies House. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  2. "Jon Wilkin St Helens". superleague.co.uk. 2015. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. "Saints swoop for Wilkin". BBC. 17 December 2002. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  8. "Team of the Year – St Helens rugby league side". BBC. 10 December 2006. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  9. "Saints top Dream Team nominations". BBC. 18 September 2006. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  10. "2008 Grand Final". BBC. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  11. "Purdham earns World Cup call-up". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  12. "Rhinos Take Super League Title". Sky News. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  13. Burke, David (11 October 2009). "Smith's Crisp". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  14. AFP (11 October 2009). "Leeds makes it Super League hat-trick". ABC News. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  15. AAP (11 October 2009). "Leeds claim third successive Grand Final". nrl.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  16. Linfoot, Ben (10 October 2009). "Grand Final: Leeds Rhinos 18 St Helens 10". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  17. Correspondent (12 October 2009). "Potter refuses to blame video ref". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  18. Fletcher, Paul (10 October 2009). "St Helens 10-18 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  19. "Third time unlucky as Saints fail to halt Rhinos' charge to title". Liverpool Daily Post. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  20. "Sinfield hails winning culture". The Daily Mirror. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  21. Stewart, Rob (12 October 2009). "Lee Smith targets place in England rugby union team after Grand Final victory". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  22. "Sinfield hails historic title win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  23. "Leeds Rhinos fans in homecoming welcome". Yorkshire Evening Post. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  24. "Leeds claim Grand Final glory as inspired Rob Burrow sinks St Helens". Guardian. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  25. "St Helens 16 Leeds 32". Daily Telegraph. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  26. "Former Saints' skipper Jon Wilkin is to bring down the curtain on his rugby league career following Toronto Wolfpack's demise". St Helens Reporter. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  27. "Wilks wins Observer Community Award". Saints. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  28. BBC Sport. "Rugby League players form their own union". BBC. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  29. O'Leary, Abigail (17 April 2015). "Top rugby league players turn their hands to making artisan coffee in new business quest". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
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