With the Six Nations and World Cup around the corner Sale Sharks fly-half Danny Cipriani could be on the cusp of an England return, according to Harlequins star Danny Care.
Cipriani has not featured for England since the summer tests with New Zealand and faces a stern battle for the No.10 jersey with Owen Farrell, George Ford and Stephen Myler all ahead of him in the pecking order.
It is that competition for places that could see the 27-year-old eventually leave Sale for the lures of France – with Sharks’ director of rugby Steve Diamond admitting Cipriani will make a decision on his future in the next fortnight.
But Cipriani has showed glimpses of brilliance this season with stand-out performances against Newcastle Falcons and Exeter Chiefs serving as a reminder of what the former Wasps man is capable of.
And scrum-half Care believes that, if Cipriani continues to produce the goods on the field, an England call-up could arrive at the exactly the right time.
“There are a good few fly-halves that we could pick who I think are great for England at the moment,” said Care, who was visiting Bishop Perrin C of E Primary School in Twickenham to support the Aviva Tackling Numbers programme – an innovative and engaging programme about numbers and financial education fun.
“You’ve got people like Cipriani who are pushing for that spot, so there’s an abundance of talent in that position really which I think is a good thing for the coaches to have.
“I think Cipriani is definitely good enough to play for England again – he had his chance a few years ago and went out of the system a bit but he has come back and has shown what a good player he is.
“He has let his rugby do the talking recently, so I don’t think he will be too far away come the summer.
“It’s tough for fly-halves as they’re probably in the most pressured place – they’ve got 80,000 people watching them kick a ball through some posts. All the tens are fantastic kickers.
“It’s not as easy as some people think it is, so I feel for them and in some ways I’m glad it is them rather than me.”
Care knows all too well what it’s like to lose your spot in the England line-up after featuring in the Autumn internationals against New Zealand and South Africa before being supplanted by Ben Youngs for the matches with Samoa and Australia.
But he says the only thing he and Cipriani can do is focus on their club rugby and hope for the best.
“A home World Cup is definitely something that would be exciting to be a part of but there’s a lot of rugby to be played before then,” he added.
“If you get caught looking too far ahead, then you will stumble a bit. I’ve got to keep working hard, play every game as well as I can and see where it takes me.”
Danny Care is supporting Aviva Tackling Numbers, an innovative maths programme for 7-9 year olds.
The programme aims to improve numeracy levels through rugby based exercises and is run in partnership with Premiership Rugby. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/tacklingnumbers
