Danny Cipriani boosted his World Cup claims with an impeccable display against the Barbarians
Monday 1 June 2015 07:31, UK
England head coach Stuart Lancaster said he thinks Danny Cipriani has improved this season after watching the fly-half orchestrate a 73-12 hammering of the Barbarians at Twickenham.
Cipriani, 27, man was named man of the match after finishing with 33 points, having converted all 10 of the England tries, two of which he scored himself, and added a penalty.
The Sale man finished the non-cap international at full-back, proving his versatility at the end of a display which has enhanced his chances of making the World Cup squad.
Lancaster said: “Danny was good and is a good enough player to apply the shape and organisation we're trying to create in attack.
"To kick 11 out of 11 is excellent. He has learned a lot about discipline from Sale this year, so he has been a lot more controlled and composed in games.
"He understands the mechanics of what it takes to win big games because I've seen him do it for Sale, so he has definitely improved through the course of the season.
"He played a lot at full-back four or five years ago and that versatility is certainly something we would consider further down the line as we get towards naming our World Cup squad, but fly-half is a pretty competitive position, as is full-back."
Lancaster also singled out Northampton-bound tight-head prop Kieran Brookes, who suggested he can compete with the likes of Dan Cole and David Wilson for a World Cup squad berth.
"Kieran was the standout forward for me,” said Lancaster. “He's just going to get better and better.
"We'll be working hard on getting him in the right condition, because I thought his ability to play there for 60 minutes in that intensity and at that speed was excellent.
"He was definitely a contributor in two of the tries in the first half and he's a phenomenal scrummager.
"If you can build that ball-handling ability he's got and his scrummaging power, then I think he's a huge prospect for us.
"It's going to make that tight-head position very competitive, as Dan Cole and Davey Wilson are good players."
