HE'S the player every England rugby fan reckons could make the difference between defeat and victory in the World Cup semi-final against France tomorrow in Sydney.

Despite the occasional uncharacteristic lapse in Australia, Newcastle's Jonny Wilkinson is a kicking phenomenon. And now scientists reckon they have cracked the secret of his astonishing record of kicking penalties and converting tries.

Putting the pieces together yielded the following equation to explain his KP (kicking prowess):

CSP - (EnC(s+w+r+y to the power of n) + PsS( cr+sc+mt+x to the power of n) + PhS(c x t x w).

Simple, isn't it?

CSP stands for Closed Skill Performance, worked out by calculating Wilkinson's angle of approach to the ball, the speed of his run-up, his foot and ball placement, and kicking leg velocity.

Environmental conditions (EnC), psychological state (PsS) and physical status (PhS) were also taken into account.

They include such factors as playing surface, wind, rain, anxiety produced by the crowd, and fatigue.

The key to any sporting performance is the ability to control CSP while taking into account external factors - known as Sci-Q.

The equation was devised by Andrew Cushing and Professor Paul Robinson at University College Worcester.

Mr Cushing said: "Wilkinson has developed psychological techniques to control both his physical and mental state when he takes the kick.

"He knows that if he gets everything right the ball will go between the posts."

Sport & Motors - Page 29