PH The pressure Jonny put himself under to be the best was at times unbearable

THhroughout his incredible career as an international fly-half, Jonny Wilkinson readily admits the only time he ever felt truly happy and relaxed was during a match. Widely acknowledged as one of the finest rugby union players the world has ever seen Jonny, who first played for his country aged 18, was propelled to sporting legend status in 2003 when he scored a drop-goal for England in the last minute of extra-time during the Rugby World Cup final against Australia in Sydney. The former Newcastle Falcons player, who also played for the British and Irish Lions and French side Toulon, gained a reputation for his formidable perfectionism and focus both on and off the pitch.

If you don’t have good mental health, life doesn’t really exist properly Jonny Wilkinson

But the pressure he put himself under to be the best was at times unbearable, he says, with respite from his constant self-criticism coming only during a match. “When you’re out on the pitch you enter ‘the zone’ and suddenly there is no past or future, just the present. As soon as that whistle was blown my whole sense of being changed. I stopped thinking and questioning. Instead I was completely in the moment and it was always such a relief.” Since he retired from rugby two years ago Jonny, 37, is now by his own admission the “happiest he has ever been” and he puts that down to the fact that after a lot of hard work and introspection he has finally faced his demons and stopped trying to be perfect.

PH Jonny admits the only time he ever felt truly happy and relaxed was during a match

While retirement can be a difficult transition for some sporting stars this has not been the case for Jonny who has been busy coaching Toulon, as well as working on his clothing range Fineside and several health-related enterprises. But perhaps the project closest to his heart is the newly launched Jonny Wilkinson Foundation, which was set up to support people through various mental health challenges. Mental health is an issue now being widely discussed in the world of elite sport. According to a recent report from Mind, high-ranking athletes and sportsmen are particularly vulnerable to severe anxiety. In 2014, a few months after English batsman Jonathan Trott quit The Ashes due to a stress-related illness, the Professional Cricketers’ Association revealed that the number of players seeking help for mental health problems had doubled year on year for the previous three years. The Rugby Football League now offers free mental health advice and support to players through its State Of Mind programme. “If you don’t have good mental health, life doesn’t really exist properly,” says Jonny, who has suffered from anxiety and depression in the past. “We all have these issues to some degree or another and I want to help and inspire people from all walks of life, not just in sport, to change the way they think.” From anyone else this might sound glib but Jonny doesn’t come across as someone who does things lightly and since retiring from rugby he has, he stresses, completely changed his perspective. “As a sportsman I had this very black and white outlook,” he says. “If I missed a kick, then I thought of myself as a terrible person.

PH Jonny and wife Shelley