Wilkinson - world at his feet? (Getty Images)

By Damian Spellman, PA Sport

Jonny Wilkinson's World Cup final heroics could mean as much as £5million a year to England's newest sporting hero.

That is the view of PR guru Max Clifford, who believes the hottest property in world rugby has everything it takes to become the David Beckham of the oval ball.

The Newcastle Falcons and England fly-half may not enjoy the film-star lifestyle of his footballing counterpart, but his ability, dedication, modesty and intelligence make him a marketing man's dream.

"He's the superstar, he's the crown prince," said Clifford. "If you say David Beckham has been the king, he's the crown prince because Jonny Wilkinson is the best in the world at what he does.

"How long is it since we could honestly say 'he's the best in the world and he's British?'.

"Over the last few years, we've been amongst the best in the world, if not the best, and in how many sports can we say that? Certainly not football. That's the most important thing.

"He has a personality and he comes across as a very modest, dedicated, unassuming lad. He has all the qualities that we love in our national sporting heroes.

"That modesty, the fact that he's unassuming, adds to the appeal because one of the major problems I have had going back 40 years with American stars is to get them to act with humility. We don't admire the flash, the brash, we like humility.

"He also has a university education, which means he can go and do things that probably David Beckham couldn't do, if he wanted to.

"His earning potential would be certainly rising between £1million and £5million in the first year and at least that in future years."

Wilkinson's profile has grown during the World Cup tournament and the Australian media's attempts to dismiss the side which tore their dream to shreds on Saturday morning simply served to add further fuel to the fire.

There was a delicious irony about the fact that it was the man at the centre of the 'Is-that-all-you've-got?' jibes clinched victory at the death to add the label of World Cup winner to his enviable CV.

He is a sporting phenomenon, both admired and feared by his peers and worshipped by a growing army of fans, and that, Clifford is certain, will lead to a tide of offers.

"It could be advertising, promotion, sportswear, clothing, menswear, after-shave, hair products, if he wanted to do them - and that's the big thing - if he wanted to do them, he could make a fortune," he said.

"Rugby is a very masculine, manly sport and there's nothing remotely feminine about Jonny Wilkinson.

"He got a crunching tackle in the semi-final, got up off the floor and scored the penalty, and that is a great image to promote.

"David Beckham has been in the media spotlight for a long time now and the lad has done incredibly well and handled himself incredibly well.

"But what makes Jonny Wilkinson unique is that he's a winner, and that's where the potential lies."

Wilkinson's marketability has already been harnessed by the likes of adidas, for whom he teamed up with Beckham to shoot a series of television adverts, and Lucozade, and he is employed by Lloyds TSB as one of their rugby ambassadors.

A spokesman for adidas said: "Once people made the connection between Beckham being the best right-footed dead-ball person and Jonny being the best left-footed dead-ball person, almost undoubtedly the best set-piece people in either sport, it was quite straightforward on the back of that to get some publicity mileage."

GlaxoSmithKline, manufacturers of Lucozade, are also delighted with the return they have had.

"We've been extremely pleased with the partnership, not just with Jonny Wilkinson, but with Matt Dawson as well, another key asset to the England team," said a spokesperson.

"We're very pleased with the association with both Jonny and Matt. We caught Jonny on the crest of a wave."

Top sports agent Jonathan Barnett, however, is not convinced that even lifting the World Cup will increase the profile of English rugby enough to make multi-millionaires of its stars, although he concedes that Wilkinson and captain victorious Martin Johnson are the main men.

"It won't be huge," he said. "People will say it will be, but it won't. I think it's a minority sport still and it was being played in Australia, so not so many people are looking at it, comparatively.

"There will be one or two things, but it won't be massive. Jonny Wilkinson will do quite well, and so will Martin Johnson as captain.

"I wouldn't like to put a figure on it, but it won't be millions. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. It's great for the game - I'm a great rugby fan and I would love to see it - but I don't think it will be that big for individual players."