BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Jonny Wilkinson

In his latest exclusive column, England and Newcastle fly-half Jonny Wilkinson looks back at the opening European weekend and ahead to the visit of New Zealand in November.

Start well. That's my advice on how to give yourself an advantage in any of the European competitions.

Previous column: The Heineken shadow

Both the Heineken and Parker Pen tournaments are incredibly difficult and, mark my words, many good sides will be made to look vulnerable, as they were last year.

There were some interesting results on the opening weekend.

Marius Hurter grabbed a vital try for the Falcons

But, while it's important not to read too much into them, it's vital to start well if you don't want the European silverware to slip through your fingers.

So it was with relief that we returned from Grenoble with a victory under our belt.

You don't have to travel to the Southern Hemisphere to experience one of rugby's greatest challenges.

A short hop over the English Channel is enough to send shivers down the spine of the most hardened front row forward, so we were delighted with our win.

Grenoble have started well domestically and to face them away was a real challenge for us, particularly as the match was played in conditions that were less than ideal.

After two days of sunshine the wind and rain kicked in, but we played a good tactical game and our prop Marius Hurter grabbed a try that ultimately proved conclusive.

I'm sure the word 'partisan' was never used until the French first picked up an oval-shaped ball

European competition certainly has a different flavour to the Zurich Premiership and not simply because of the French "beouf" that you face on the pitch.

It's also due to the way they support their teams. In fact, I'm sure the word 'partisan' was never used until the French first picked up an oval-shaped ball!

Of course, that makes playing there all the more enjoyable.

It's about facing up to your challenges, and if you've read any of these columns before, you'll know that's one the key themes that drives me on.

No doubt that was on the minds of the Georgia players when they took the field against Russia for their World Cup qualifier on the weekend.

Georgia managed to book their place in the finals with a hard fought 17-13 victory and I'm looking forward to playing them in Australia next year.

They have a superb Sevens side, and the Sevens experts in the England squad have been very complimentary about them.

So I wish them well ahead of the World Cup, though as they're in our group, clearly I'll be happy to see them standing underneath their own posts.

The reason the All Blacks are so incredibly strong is because they have enormous depth to their talent base

So too New Zealand, who will be finalising their preparations for their trip to Europe in November.

There has been some debate as to the strength of the side that they'll send.

This very website reported some weeks ago that John Mitchell may leave his more experienced international stars at home.

News story: All Blacks to rest stars

Well, that's up to him. But as far as the English players are concerned, New Zealand are New Zealand, whichever XV takes the field.

The reason the All Blacks are so incredibly strong is because they have enormous depth to their talent base.

The competitions they play in are very strong and their players are being brought through the ranks incredibly quickly.

So what they may lose in terms of experience, they will more than make up for in ambition. And that can sometimes be even more dangerous.