England first five Jonny Wilkinson has admitted he was bored by the style of rugby which took his side to the Rugby World Cup final last month.

Wilkinson, who will return to play for Newcastle this weekend after recovering from an ankle injury he sustained during the final defeat to the Springboks, said England's kicking game failed to excite him, even though it was centred around him in the No 10 jersey.

England managed only one try in its three knockout matches and Wilkinson said he took no pleasure from the forwards-dominated brand of rugby.

"The games were intense and precise and very much based around getting to the right places on the field to kick," Wilkinson told The Guardian.

"It was centered around the forwards as well, as it always is, but it was really based on the No 9 and No 10 and that doesn't, if I'm going to be honest, enthral me.

“Everyone thinks about the idea of kicking. I mean the game based around me. It's not that I'm worried about that but the idea going into a game knowing you've got to put the ball around kicking doesn't really enthral me. It's not why I got into rugby."

Wilkinson also says that he hopes England will adapt a more expansive and exciting game when the Six Nations kicks off early next year.

"That's ¬exactly why I love the game, that's why I practise every day, that's what I think about, that's what makes me excited about playing rugby," he told Metro. "The games at the World Cup were like a game of chess. That's opposed to moments of chess and what I'd call British bulldog stuff, where you are running around and using your skills. That's what makes me tick.