Friday 22 June 2018 07:43, UK
Danny Cipriani is aiming to be the calmest guy in the room after being recalled to start for England in their third and final summer Test against South Africa.
The in-form Wasps' fly-half has been selected to start against the Springboks following an impressive 14-minute cameo off the bench in England's 23-12 defeat in Bloemfontein.
He gets the nod ahead of George Ford after Eddie Jones' side slumped to a fifth successive Test defeat, and Cipriani is hoping to repay his coach's faith with the kind of composed performance that has led critics to clamour for his inclusion.
"I'm excited for Saturday and obviously I know the size and magnitude of the game," Cipriani told Sky Sports News. "But, you know, if you ride the wave too high or too low then you will end up all over the place.
"I'm pretty calm and that's my position, and where I'm going to be on Saturday is to try and be the calmest guy in the room."
It has been a decade since Cipriani started a Test for England and when asked to estimate his development in the years since, he said: "I'd say [I'm] much calmer. I was in a different environment. I was at Wasps and we had strike-runners everywhere and we played rugby a certain way.
"Then I moved over to ply my trade in different areas and teams and learned more about the game.
"I had the fortunate pleasure of learning a lot with when I was at Sale Sharks for four years. We got to play games in a different manner and it was a wonderful experience for me.
"I learned to play rugby a different way there than I did at Wasps the second time around. I was always told to be a student of the game and that's the best I've done.
"I try and learn from every single player whether it is young, or Marcus Smith in training camp and it's his exuberance that comes across.
"We can all takes those moments and I'm excited to team up with Owen [Farrell] at 10-12 and also the rest of the boys. I feel like I'm getting there and I still have a long way to go, but I'm calm at the moment and I'm excited for Saturday."
When asked what being handed the 10 jersey means to him Cipriani said:
"When I was a kid and dreamed about playing rugby my vision was England, not to play club rugby cos I was always a massive football fan so for me it was that England image that was put out there.
"And obviously I've been fortunate enough to be able to do that and I feel like I've learned a lot in this camp and I feel very privileged to be able to be part of this training camp. Hopefully, on Saturday, I'll have a big role to play in terms of getting the victory.
He added: "It's been 10 years so I'm excited."
England have come in for much criticism for their on-field leadership in recent defeats and when questioned about his role in this area, Cipriani said: "You know there are no egos among this back-line to be like, who's calling it? But as a 10 you will be making the calls in terms of what you feel and if someone wants to give some advice on it, then obviously I'm going to go with it because obviously they've seen something different to me."
Reflecting on Cipriani's selection, England coach Jones said: "We feel he's been the best 10 at the moment and it's very hard on George Ford who has been an important part of the team.
"He works hard behind the scenes for the team and we just feel that Cipriani's left foot will really help us on Saturday in what might be difficult conditions.
"If you look at it, every game we have come out with energy. Every game we have come out with purpose, we have won the first 20 minutes of each game.
"It's our ability to be composed, to make good decisions under pressure, because at some stage of the game the Springboks are going to come at us and it's our ability to hang on to that moment, find out what we are going to do and execute it. That's the important thing and obviously Danny is going to have a role at 10."
Tune into Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 3pm on Saturday for England's third Test with South Africa from Newlands in Cape Town.
