Danny Cipriani determined to force his way into Stuart Lancaster's England team
Thursday 4 December 2014 12:18, UK
Sale Sharks fly-half Danny Cipriani is determined to force his way into Stuart Lancaster’s England plans before the 2015 World Cup.
Cipriani was once viewed as the prodigal son of English rugby and tipped as the heir-apparent to Jonny Wilkinson in England’s number 10 shirt after bursting onto the scene with Wasps as a teenager.
However, after earning seven caps, he fell out of favour under Martin Johnson and failed to play for England until Lancaster took him on the summer tour of New Zealand.
Cipriani did not feature in the squad for the November Tests as Owen Farrell, George Ford and Stephen Myler were all ahead of him in the pecking order, but the 27-year-old is determined to break through and says he is willing to do whatever the England coaching staff asks of him.
“Any English player who is not in the squad is going to say they can offer something for England,” Cipriani said.
“There are areas of my game that I want to keep improving so I can be that complete player for them.”
Questions
Unfortunately for Lancaster, England currently have more questions than answers at fly-half after presumed first-choice Farrell was benched following his struggles in defeats to New Zealand and South Africa.
Ford is the man currently in possession of the 10 shirt but the inexperienced Bath man’s grasp on the jersey is tenuous and now some England fans are starting to wonder if Cipriani might be the right man to provide the creative spark they were so lacking in the autumn Tests.
Cipriani led Sale to three victories from three during the autumn Tests and produced a moment of magic in the last of the three games, against Newcastle, which showed England exactly what they are missing.
With his team trailing 13-11 in the 69th minute, Cipriani chipped over the Falcons' defence from inside his own 22-metre area, gathered the ball and threw a perfectly-timed offload to set up the 90-metre match-winning score.
While Cipriani is willing to work on improving his weaknesses, he is determined to retain the attacking flair which has always characterised his game.
“I am always going to keep working on my strengths and keep trying to highlight those because they will be my point of difference,” Cipriani said.
“They (the England coaches) are very big on each player having a point of difference, like Manu Tuilagi with his big ball-carrying physicality – that is his point of difference.”
Cipriani admitted he was disappointed not to feature for England in November but said Lancaster does an excellent job of engaging with players on the periphery of the squad.
Communicating
“You are disappointed not to be involved but the coaches are very good at communicating with their players and telling them what they need to improve on,” Cipriani said.
“You always kind of feel involved and are making sure you can improve in those areas where as in past regimes that might have been the case.
“To hear the pointers they want me to work on, over the last four weeks I have been trying to do that.
“I will continue to do so moving into the rest of the season to make sure I can keep ticking the right boxes to put my hand up to represent England.”
When asked what areas of his game he had been asked to improve, Cipriani said: “Just certain areas of my game, from my technique when I am kicking out of hand, from the way I overwork sometimes in defence and just little bits for me personally to work on.”
