Wilkinson - father couldn't watch.

By John-Paul Ford Rojas, PA News

The father of England hero Jonny Wilkinson on Monday told how he walked away from the game minutes before his son scored the drop goal that won the World Cup.

An exhausted looking Phil Wilkinson, who has just travelled back from Australia where he was following the tournament, told how he could not bear to watch - just like his wife.

Speaking from his home near Corbridge, Northumberland, he put his actions down to simply "being a parent".

Mr Wilkinson saw his son's heroics on a television screen beneath the stand at the stadium while wife Philippa, who had stayed at home in England, had been shopping at a Tesco's store in Newcastle during the game.

Mr Wilkinson said on Monday: "It was just the total pressure and everything else. It was just a feeling that you are there but you can't doing anything to change anything.

"You have an insight more than any normal fan as to what's involved."

Mr Wilkinson added that he did not believe his son, the toast of English sport, would become an iconic figure like David Beckham, with all the ceaseless attention that would bring.

He said: "He won't. People have been talking on the TV about fame and money. We'll just get on with it and get on with life."

He admitted he was a "happy dad" and added: "I'll settle for that."

Mr Wilkinson added: "When he does come back we'll get back into the normal routine and get back into normal life."

Paying tribute to the build-up to his son's winning goal, he said: "I think from the kick-off and the way it was done it could be seen as partly a training-ground move. It couldn't have been done better.

"I think Jonny had said he had missed three so he wasn't going to miss another one."

Referring to the player's renowned preparation for games, he said: "I think the key of winning hasn't been in the playing but in the practice he puts in."

Despite all the accolades, Mr Wilkinson was keen to play down the idea of his son being the individual star of Saturday's performance.

He said: "He does what he does. It is a total team effort.

"The script was that somebody kicks the last goal and that's what he does."

He confirmed that Saturday's victory had been Jonny's long-held ambition, saying: "It's been his dream to win a World Cup for sure."