Sunday 14 October 2018 19:45, UK
Johan Ackermann has described Danny Cipriani as "a driven person" after he played a pivotal role in Gloucester's Heineken Champions Cup victory over Castres on Sunday.
Cipriani kicked 14 points and did not miss a shot at goal as Gloucester beat the reigning Top 14 champions at Kingsholm.
It was also just four days before England head coach Eddie Jones - who was among a Kingsholm crowd of just under 10,000 - announces his squad for next month's Twickenham appointments with South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia, live on Sky Sports.
Cipriani was left out of the England training group last month and whether Jones feels he has done enough to earn a recall will soon become clear.
"I thought Danny was good," said Gloucester head coach Ackermann, following the 19-14 win.
"Previously, how I explained it, when you start building a team you build relationships. When you are fortunate to have a team with four top players in a position and you have two guys in the seat, you have to ask the question 'what will the third guy bring differently'?
"Eddie has made up his mind that in Owen (Farrell) and (George) Ford he has guys that play the way he wants to play, and then only when he needs Danny will he bring him in.
"To be fair, I would have to work with those two before I can really see the main reasons why he selects them.
"How many guys can you pick in one position? If you have got two 10s, maybe you stock up on centres, wingers or back-rowers? It is more a composition of the squad than individuals.
"Danny has his relationship with Eddie, his openness, he knows exactly where he stands. The only thing for me is that Danny does as well as he can for us and does his talking on the field."
Asked if he was confident that Cipriani would keep performing should Jones again overlook him, Ackermann added:
"One thing that stood out for me from Danny when he came to Gloucester was that he never spoke about England, he spoke about making Gloucester successful and us a champion side.
"That is what he talks about. I do believe, regardless of what happens in the autumn Tests, he is a driven person and a lot of things can change between now and the World Cup.
"I am a firm believer of picking on form. You never know, in six months' time if he is the in-form 10 still Eddie can change his mind."
Cipriani's points apart, scrum-half Callum Braley scored a first-half try for Gloucester, with their victory marking their first appearance in Europe's top-flight competition since 2013/14 in a positive fashion.
Wing Martin Laveau scored a try and fly-half Julien Dumora booted two penalties and a drop-goal for French champions Castres, yet their miserable European away record now reads just four wins from 41 starts.
"The score was close, and credit to them for coming back into the contest. They were in it right to the end," added the head coach.
"We missed a lot of opportunities to finish them off, but we always knew they were going to be tough. They are big boys, a quality side, and they are not the French champions for nothing.
"For me, it was the character that was shown today. Right at the end, when it needed to be, we stopped their maul and got a crucial turnover."
