WHEN the new England rugby captain Jonny Wilkinson leads his team on to the pitch to face Australia this autumn he knows that one little sports fan in Oz will be backing the all-whites rather than the Wallabies - as these proud York grandparents can testify.

For Derek and Enid Clarke have their own little Jonny Wilkinson in the family - their grandson, who was named after the England hero when he was born, nine months after England's last-gasp victory in the Rugby Union World Cup Down Under.

The Huntington couple's rugby-mad son, Steve Clarke, a former York Nestl Rowntree player, may have emigrated to Australia, but he has shown where his loyalties lie when it comes to his sport.

Only minutes after Aussie wife Yolanda gave birth he covered his new son in a white jersey bearing the red rose of his native country.

Now proud grandparents Derek and Enid, of Huntington Road, York, are planning to travel around the world to see their youngest grandson, Jonny Wilkinson Clarke, in Hampton Park, Melbourne.

"He always was rugby mad," said Derek, 69. "But the name came out of the blue. It's not a name I would have picked, but I've got used to it."

Enid, 74, added: "No one had any choice in the matter. He had the name written in the register before his wife could even see it."

The couple, who worked for Nestl Rowntree for more than 45 years, are planning to take a photo signed by the original Jonny Wilkinson, who has just been named England captain, with them to Oz.

Derek said little Jonny was a "happy accident" conceived during a weekend of celebrations after the Clarkes watched England beat Australia at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney last November.

Jonny Wilkinson kicked England to a memorable 20-17 victory with a dramatic drop goal in the last minute of extra time in front of millions of fans world-wide.

Updated: 10:08 Thursday, October 07, 2004