Wilkinson looks forward to huge match

Two-tour Lion Jonny Wilkinson will tick off another box in his illustrious career tomorrow when he makes his first Heineken Cup quarter-final appearence. [more]

Jonny Wilkinson

Two-tour Lion Jonny Wilkinson will tick off another box in his illustrious career tomorrow when he makes his first Heineken Cup quarter-final appearence.

The England World Cup winner will line up against Perpignan at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium as Toulon look to continue their dream first season in the Europe's premier club competition.

And for Wilkinson, who has achieved pretty much everything in the game, it doesn't get any bigger than the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup.

"This game is huge," said Wilkinson.

"We take some games to the Velodrome in Marseilles and playing a club match in front of 60,000 is just ridiculous.

"Saturday will be like playing in an international. These are the kind of games I remember forever, you take games like this with you.

"The measure of a man in rugby is what you do next and the Heineken Cup is the biggest competition in club rugby. This is all I've got."

Wilkinson is all too aware of the expectation weighing on Toulon and anticipates a feverish atmosphere as two of the games most colourful sets of supporters clash at the Olympic Stadium.

"One of the main things that drew me down here was the passion for rugby and the type of players they had here," added Wilkinson.

"I've never experienced anything like Toulon, where the shirt represents so much to the people of the region.

"Wherever you go you take the pride in that jersey with you and you really have to make sure you represent it well.

"But I live Toulon day in day out and I reckon we can win it. The forwards just want it so much.

"Some of the guys have finished internationally. This is all they've got.

"Rugby is like a drug and you need your fix. You have to get it and a Heineken Cup quarter-final is pretty much the same as a international.

"It's another chance to get out there and live the dream."

Previous story Henson set for return
Next story Jones signs new contract