£5m-a-year on cards for fly-half

Jonny Wilkinson will touch down in London tomorrow as English rugby's first Six Million Dollar Man.

Wilkinson has now taken over from giant All Black winger Jonah Lomu as the "Face of World Rugby" after his dramatic drop-goal clinched England the World Cup.

Sports marketing experts predicted today that the 24-year-old fly-half has the potential to make up to £5million-a-year in sponsorship deals, catapulting him into the top 10 earners in British sport.

European Sponsorship Association chairman Nigel Currie said: "He's in (David) Beckham's category in terms of being young, good-looking and the playmaker in the team. He's got all the style.

"He's the one all the kids want to emulate. That is what is needed to be a marketing man's dream."