Teetotal Jonny Wilkinson has admitted going on a "blow out" after England's World Cup final defeat.
England fly-half prepares for ankle treatment after final defeat
Jonny Wilkinson has admitted drowning his World Cup final sorrows in a post-match "blow-out".
England's star fly-half also revealed the ankle injury that kept him out of the opening two pool games has not fully cleared.
Wilkinson, who partied with his team-mates and princes William and Harry following the15-6 defeat to South Africa, wrote in his
Times column: "I suspect that it is widely known that I am teetotal.
"Well, I broke the habit of pretty much a lifetime after the game on Saturday night and had a bit of a blow-out. It was the first time in years and simply seemed the right time and the right thing to do.
Heartbreak
"A huge bond has been formed in this squad over the past few weeks and I didn't want to break it."
Despite the final heartbreak, Wilkinson insists England can be proud of their World Cup defence.
He said: "It remains the case that we have had an incredible journey just to get this far. My mindset before the final was that if we lost, getting there would mean nothing. But I've gone beyond that already. We achieved so much so quickly; that, I hope, will be my abiding thought and not the pain of the final.
"Indeed, it was something of an achievement to get some of us there at all. The fact is that my right ankle - the one I turned in our first training session in Versailles all those weeks ago - has been giving me trouble throughout the tournament.
Treatment
"I have been having treatment on it pretty much every day and, for the first time, I had to have treatment on it at half-time on Saturday.
"Phil Pask, one of our physios, said that the rehab on the ankle here was three or four weeks shorter than he would have liked. Normally we would not have pushed the comeback so quickly, but I was up and running on it after only 10 days and was patched up sufficiently to play in the Samoa game. The medics did a wonderful job.
"When I get home, I am going to have to reassess the ankle and let it recover properly. Out here in France, I haven't been able to kick on the right foot at all. I didn't kick once on it in practice and I didn't use it once in any of the games except for three dropped goal attempts that all missed."
