Dan Carter says Jonny Wilkinson is slowly returning to his dominating best.

The pair were once considered the finest flyhalves on the planet, and while Carter may now hold that tag solely, Wilkinson certainly has been galvanised by a move to French Top 14 club Toulon, and, most importantly, by the fact that he has managed to stay injury free.

The Englishman was sidelined for most of the period between late 2003 and late 2007, but has now seemingly fully recovered from his varying injuries. He’ll line up against Carter at Twickenham on Saturday, surely desperate to prove that he still has the aptitude to compete against the game’s best, and Carter was lavish in his praise of Wilkinson.

‘He’s right up there… I’ve got huge respect for him,’ Carter said. ‘I’m sure both of us are praying our forwards turn up and they deliver, because getting front-foot ball just makes your job that much easier … he poses a real threat and you always love coming up against guys you admire and respect.’

Carter tempered those comments with a more diplomatic response to the question of whether Wilkinson had returned to his best form. ‘He’s getting there,’ he said.

The Blacks’ pivot had an injury-ruined stint at French club Perpignan, but spoke about the benefits of the sojourn on his return. He said the change from Newcastle to Toulon would have similar benefits for Wilkinson, who he said he never doubted would return to the Test stage.

‘He’s such a dedicated and motivated person, with an extremely big work ethic, and when you live life like that you’re going to reach your goals. I’m sure one of them was to get back playing for England,’ he said.

Across town, Wilkinson was equally generous in his praise of Carter.

‘Is he one of the most skilful players there’s ever been?’ posed Wilkinson. ‘Without a doubt. He’s smart, he’s switched on and he’s obviously a deep enough character to take things like injury, or moving to France, in his stride.

‘He’s one of those guys, when he’s on form, which is most of the time, his team is obviously flying and when you get that team flying you know you’re in trouble.’

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