Tuesday 19 May 2015 13:56, UK
Jonny Wilkinson says Steffon Armitage made the right decision to move to France, even if England don't pick him.
Wilkinson, who won the Heineken Cup twice with Toulon, is one of the most high-profile England players to have plied his trade in the Top 14, and believes that playing in the league will benefit the right type of players, even if it means being excluded from international contention.
In particular, he feels that is the case for his former Toulon team-mate.
"It's not just about what's best for England", Wilkinson told Sky Sports, "it's also about what's best for Stef Armitage. At the moment he is where he needs to be.
"He played a long time in England, did some amazing stuff for London Irish, had a crack with England and did well but it didn't quite work, hence he made the decision."
It’s not a case of saying that Stef's not good enough - of course he's good enough. But it's also not a case of saying that England must have him.
For Wilkinson the difficulty faced by Stuart Lancaster, and the potential decision to include him under the 'exceptional circumstances' rules, is that there is no guarantee Armitage would come back in the same form he is experiencing in France.
"He goes out there, he's incredibly happy doing what he does, he's loving the situation, and of course he's playing brilliantly.
“You can't just transplant that back into England and say, alright then, bring that back. We've been there, and it's not to say it wouldn't work, but it's not to say that it would."
The World Cup winner says that that neither party is in a position to risk what they currently have in order to explore the option of moving the flanker back to home soil.
"England can't guarantee Steffon Armitage and say, ‘come back and you'll play’. They can't do that. They can say ‘come back and we'd like to consider you’.
“And for him, he's giving up too much for something that's not even sure.
"Even if it was sure when he first started playing, he can't guarantee England as well. He can be sure enough as a player and confident enough to say he'll do that, but he will have to get used to [the setup].
"When he came to Toulon, in his first game I bet he was damn good, but I bet he probably didn't hit the mark that people are talking about now until 20 games in. And he's got to do that again."
The two-time European champion adds that in bringing Armitage back, the former European Player of the Year would be replacing an important figure in the England team.
"The thing is with him is that he's such a good player he would be awesome, but England have got Chris Robshaw in that position who's the captain and doing an amazing job - the guy who's been leading this England team around.
“What sort of message does that portray of England as well?
"It’s not a case of saying that Stef's not good enough - of course he's good enough. But it's also not a case of saying that England must have him. Yes it would be great, but also look who they've got.
"To wreck all that to try and find a way of doing it, when it could ruin Steff's chances of carrying on and being an amazing player, it could ruin Chris Robshaw's or England's chances… if it doesn't fit and doesn't feel right, then it's not meant to be."
They've gone away from thinking 'we must have quick answers and we must win', because when they've made those decisions they've had to go back and fill in the holes that they've papered over.
The debate surrounding the exclusion of Armitage from the England setup - and more recently Nick Abendanon - has been dividing opinion in the England rugby community and media for months. The openside has proven his worth on the field regularly for the European champions, while the full-back has quickly made himself an integral part of Clermont's success this season.
For Wilkinson, the debate goes further than any one player, and says for some the decision to play abroad is right, even if it means not playing for your country.
"It's such a difficult argument," said Wilkinson, "it's so difficult because you could straight away back this up by saying that if you open that door so many people are going to want to go.
"The problem is for England, there are certain players who make good decisions to go there. The ones that do well in France are the ones that make the right decision to go to France.
"Guys like Steffon Armitage - how many times for London Irish was he killing it? Nick Abendanon - fabulous for Bath, but just couldnt quite make that level.
“If you keep doing what you're doing, and it's good stuff, and you keep getting what you get but it's not what you want, you've got to make a change.”
The policy of not selecting foreign-based players is part of a wider commitment by the RFU to bring consistency to the game in England, which Wilkinson believes will help the team compete on the international stage on a regular basis.
"England have done some great stuff recently because they've gone to the long term, and they've said they need to make decisions that are going to cause this England team to get better and better and never have to look back.
"They've gone away from thinking 'we must have quick answers and we must win', because when they've made those decisions they've had to go back and fill in the holes that they've papered over.
"And that just means down the line you end up having to do this whole rebuilding period, which teams like New Zealand never seem to do. Why are they never rebuilding? South Africa to a degree as well.
"Australia have had maybe a bit more of a rebuild recently where they've had to find spaces, but England doesn't need to do rebuilding, they just need to keep building."
Jonny Wilkinson is a Sky Academy Ambassador, visiting schools as part of the Sky Sports Living for Sport initiative. To get involved and sign up to Sky Sports Living for Sport, visit www.skysports.com/livingforsport.
