MARSEILLE, France (AFP) - Jonny Wilkinson has battled through a series of horrendous injuries since kicking England to World Cup glory in 2003, but the playmaker insists he has matured through lessons learnt off the pitch.

Wilkinson's injury-time drop-goal broke Australian hearts four years ago and the outside-half will have another chance to crush the hopes of the Wallabies in this year's World Cup quarter-final here on Saturday.

The Newcastle No 10, just five points away from becoming the World Cup's top points scorer, said he was "definitely different" from 2003.

Wilkinson said he would like to see himself as a Neil Back-type figure in the squad, "a bit older but a bit more relaxed" than he was previously.

"I still struggle with it because I tend to dive in, take things very personally and analyse things very deeply," he admitted.

"I need to understand that my strengths at 28 years of age are very different from what they were at 24."

Wilkinson has appeared in just seven of England's 42 Tests since they won the World Cup, and was given a fright this time around after missing the first two pool games against the United States and South Africa with strained ankle ligaments.

"I would have hoped to have played a few more games, and to have spent a bit more time doing my learning week in, week out," he said.

"As it is, I've actually done most of my learning off the field. That's certainly pushed me down a different route.

"It's given me a greater awareness of what these occasions mean, what they're supposed to mean and what I want them to mean, to me and the team.

"But also, not to take things for granted and have a deeper respect for what it takes to be here.

"In the four years that I've aged, the goalposts have moved for me.

"Although everything remains in the way I like to play the game and the things that rugby means to me in terms of the contact and the competitive nature of it all, there's a part of me now that wants to involve myself more effectively at times as well, and have more of a say of what happens and where it happens."

Wilkinson was in no doubt how victory could be achieved against Australia at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.

"You go in there (to the match) knowing you have to give a good performance and if you do, you stand a chance of winning.

"It's exactly what we did in 2003. It's exactly what we did in 1999 as well, but this year and in 1999 we played South Africa and didn't play our best, we didn't make the big decisions, didn't get things precise enough.

"We played worse than they did and we got beaten."

He added: "I'd like to think (that on Saturday) it'll be the same as in 2003."