Tuesday 15 May 2018 15:35, UK
Danny Cipriani has revealed he turned down lucrative offers from abroad to instead join Gloucester after earning a recall to the England squad.
The 30-year-old fly-half, who has been called up by Eddie Jones for the upcoming tour to South Africa, will leave Wasps when his contract expires this summer.
Cipriani says he rejected the chance to move abroad after being handed an international lifeline by Jones ahead of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
"I was waiting to find out about selection," Cipriani said. "I do love the Premiership, I love playing in it week in, week out. The attrition of it.
"It obviously had a part to play and as soon as that happened it was about pulling the trigger and staying in England and picking the right option."
Cipriani added: "I've had some offers from overseas over the last couple of months. It has been a frustrating time for them, probably, because I was trying to hold everything back as long as I could.
"I was willing to sit back and just wait and see, if not then make a decision based on that accordingly, because you've got to know what is going on in front of you to make the right decision.
"It seems to have panned out quite well."
Cipriani insists he never gave up hope of earning an international recall after a three-year absence.
When asked if he had at times believed his England career was over, Cipriani said: "I hadn't thought that.
"I was doing everything I could but I hadn't really thought about it. I was just playing to the best of my ability and doing what I could.
"If there was anything I could improve on, what the coaches were helping me with. You get advice from Eddie and that is exactly what I tried to do. To just keep moving forward."
