Twickenham rose to Jason Robinson when he entered the field alone and they rose again as he left in the 68th minute, a fitting tribute to a great rugby player. There will be no more competitive rugby for the little wing who became a legend with Wigan before doing so with Sale Sharks, England and the Lions - a testimonial match next June, probably in Stockport, will be the finale.

Temptations will be strewn in his way but they will be resisted. “A lot of people will probably ask me to pull on a shirt of some sort over the next six months but I decided last December I was finishing,” Robinson, 33, said. “It will be a nice time to reflect after 15 or 16 years at this level on all the memories and the players I’ve played with.

“I can see myself doing some kind of ambassador role maybe some stuff in the community, perhaps with children, but there’s no chance of coaching at a higher level. I’ve seen what coaches go through - most go bald.”

Mark Regan, the Bristol and England hooker, described it as a privilege to have captained Robinson in his final game. Robinson, the greatest of cross-code successes, acknowledged his reception. “The crowd will go home happy, I’ll go home happy. My last game was with a magnificent team against a world-class team, I don’t think it can get any better,” Robinson said.

“There’s no way on earth I could have got to play with these guys except through the Barbarians and to finish at Twickenham, the home of English rugby, is great. I have had a wonderful career, there’s no doubt about it. The one thing I wanted was to be consistent and I think I’ve just about done that.

“You dream, you have hopes and you work hard, but nothing is guaranteed in this game, you never take things for granted. It has been fantastic.”

The genius of Jason Robinson Simon Barnes, page 73