Danny Cipriani has developed his game and warrants an England shot, says Dewi Morris

Sky Sports pundit Dewi Morris believes that Danny Cipriani's form for Sale Sharks has been good enough to convince Stuart Lancaster that he deserves an opportunity in the England squad in next year's Six Nations.

I heard today that there is talk of Danny Cipriani making a move to Toulon. Last news I received about him was that his Sale contract was up a week ago and Steve Diamond said Cipriani is happy in Manchester, that the two would be having a chat this week and that Diamond hoped the player would sign for the club again.

I think Lancaster should start Ford and pick Cipriani on the bench in the Six Nations.

There’s no way to tell if Cipriani will take Toulon up on their reported offer but I think it would be a mistake if he did.

He is young and there is admittedly an argument that he’s got to take his money when it’s offered but he has been voicing his desire to be included in the England squad and a move like this would hamper that.

I’ve said many times that I’d start talking about Danny Cipriani in an England jersey when he started playing consistently well, and he is now doing that. He had a hand in both Sale’s tries in their important win over Exeter over the weekend which put them in fifth place in the Premiership.

Fortunate

As a fly-half you need a good pack of forwards in front of you in order to perform, and there’s no doubt that he’d get that in Toulon, but he is currently fortunate enough to have a hard-working pack up in Manchester.

The likes of Nathan Hines and Dan Braid are not flair players; they do the basics well and they are not afraid to do the dirty acts required of forwards in order to win that ball.

He owes a lot to those forwards for how he’s been playing but they will have enjoyed having him behind them too – he’s ensured that they haven’t had to retreat very often due to his attacking ways.

Another point to consider is that Sale are currently in the top six of the Premiership, and if they continue the way they’re going they will be playing in the Champions Cup next year. If they do end up featuring in the premier European competition it puts the players in the shop window of European rugby, so he’s not turning his back on featuring in French domestic rugby sometime in the future if he stays at Sale for now.

Cipriani is a maverick, we’ve always known that, but he’s learning to build structure to go with his dynamism and is developing into a great fly-half. There are frailties in his defensive work but in terms of running a game he has ticked all the boxes that Stuart Lancaster will have asked of him.

Risks

Two months ago Farrell was Lancaster’s man to play fly-half for England but it looks like Ford will start the Six Nations at 10. All Cipriani has to do is continue to play well for Sale and he is in with a chance of featuring in the Six Nations, which in turn puts him in a good position to fight for a spot in that all important World Cup.

Coaches have it tough and it’s sometimes easy to go with the proven methods but I believe that if England are to grow as a side they need to pick players like Cipriani who will turn a game on its head – it won’t always come off but you have to be prepared to take those risks.

Cipriani started his career with a lot of off-field distractions but seems to have realised that this is his last chance to make a play for the England jersey. He has proven at Sale that he’s able to stay away from the glitz; he has knuckled down and shown that he’s prepared to do the muddy stuff to get the job done. Finally his rugby is the main talking point.

I think Lancaster should start Ford and pick Cipriani on the bench in the Six Nations. I would personally rather have someone who is going to scare the opposition defenders than a steady fly-half who’s only there to kick goals.

If it doesn't work out there is always the option to bring Farrell back if he needs to. Farrell will not get any worse by having a bit of time off – quite the opposite in fact. He will get a better because his confidence would be improved by featuring prominently in a number of domestic games.

I still think Stuart Lancaster is the right man to lead England, I just feel that he needs to start looking elsewhere in his selections. I hope he indulges in a lot of relaxation during the Christmas period because when the New Year ticks over he will begin one of his biggest years as a coach. Let’s hope he has the right personnel in place for the job.