Still two months short of his 24th birthday, Wilkinson has already achieved more on the international stage than most players can only dream about.

However, not since 1995 and the days of Will Carling, Dean Richards and Brian Moore have England swept all before them in a championship campaign.

And Wilkinson is aching to emulate those stars of the Carling era - badly.

"I have always wanted to win a Grand Slam," said England's fly-half playmaker.

"It's no good me pretending that it doesn't matter, because I am desperate to say that I have got one.

"England have had some cracking games in the last few years. But for some reason we've just not quite been able to finish it off at times when we were firm favourites, and that is the glorious unpredictability of sport.

"It is an exhausting experience, especially when you win four games and then lose the fifth," he added.

He recalled the triple disappointment of Wales in 1999, Scotland (2000) and Ireland (2001) and admitted he used them as motivation.

He said: "I use that memory as my force, my power, my incentive when I am out there practising my goalkicking.

"But you have to try and distance yourself from the atmosphere, don't get too involved, keep your head up and make decisions on a composed, calm level."