Mark James Philip Wilkinson (born 21 October 1977) is an English former professional rugby union player. He spent his three-year professional career at Newcastle Falcons, alongside his brother, Jonny Wilkinson, predominantly playing as a Centre.

Career

Early career

Born in Wokingham, Wilkinson played for

National League 3 North North Premier was a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the fourteen teams drawn from across Northern England. The other leagues at this level were London & South East Premier, Midlands Premier and South West Premier. The ...

side

Darlington Mowden Park Darlington Mowden Park is a professional rugby union club, based in Darlington, County Durham, England. They currently compete in National League 1, the third division of the Rugby Football Union domestic league competition pyramid, having ach ...

during the 2001/02 season, making 20 appearances and scoring 3 tries.

2002–2006

In August 2002, Wilkinson signed for Newcastle Falcons, where his brother,

Jonny Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is ''Jonnie''. People with the name *J ...

, was captain. He made his professional debut against

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie (ba ...

, playing as centre, but unusually, for that position, wearing the 15 shirt. His performance drew praise from then-manager

Rob Andrew Christopher Robert Andrew (born 18 February 1963) is a former English Rugby Union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and has been Chief Executiv ...

, who stated "It was a pretty big debut for someone who hasn't played higher than Third Division North before." He made his

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

debut in a 27–8 defeat to Treviso, His first appearance at fly-half, would not prove successful, as Newcastle lost 20–0 against London Irish. By the end of that season, he had made six appearances in the league and five in the Challenge Cup. He would feature far less the following season, making just four league appearances and two in the European Challenge Cup, although he did score his first professional tries against

Valladolid RAC Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club is a Spanish rugby union club. The club was established in 1986 and currently competes in the División de Honor de Rugby competition, the highest level of Spanish club rugby. The club are based in Valladolid in c ...

in a 71–10 victory for the Falcons. He made five Premiership appearances in the 2004/05 season, with his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

debut coming against

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

, playing at fly half in a 25–17 victory. 2005/06 would see him play just once, a brief appearance from the replacement's bench in a 27–18 defeat against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

Post-retirement

In 2006, Wilkinson retired from professional rugby, aged 28, to become the academy fitness and conditioning coach at Newcastle, at the same time

Rob Bowen Robert McClure Bowen (born February 24, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 2003 to 2008 for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athlet ...

joined the club's academy. He remained in the post for three years, before departing the club in 2009. Two years after his departure, he started the Fineside clothing range alongside his brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Mark 1977 births Living people English rugby union players Newcastle Falcons players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Wokingham