Sale Sharks fly-half Danny Cipriani has failed to regain his place in the England squad for the autumn internationals ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
After six years in the international wilderness, Cipriani appeared to be on the road to redemption after being selected by England head coach Stuart Lancaster for the tour of New Zealand in June.
Cipriani backed up his recent national selection with impressive early season performances for club side Sale, however Lancaster has gone with ‘safer’ players in the fly-half position in Owen Farrell, Stephen Myler, and George Ford.
The Sale fly-half took to Twitter to voice his disappointment but assured followers that he would not let the setback affect his game.
1) Obviously a little disappointed not to make the squad but fully behind the lads – it doesn’t change my daily habits/focus to get better
— DannyCipriani (@DannyCipriani87) October 22, 2014
2) each day and work on every aspect to get into the squad! Improvements to be made! Looking forward to this weekends game vs Clermont
— DannyCipriani (@DannyCipriani87) October 22, 2014
The calm and measured response from Cipriani suggests a player who has matured both on and off the field, raising further questions about his omission.
Director of rugby at Sale, Steve Diamond, believes his player has all the attributes of a top fly-half and should have been selected for England.
He said: “I think any contentious opinions about his goal kicking he put them to rest, with ball in hand and in defence he’s playing really well.
“Who is going to win you a game with the other 14 fantastic players around you? Stephen Myler or Cipriani?”
Diamond has suggested that if Cipriani played for a more fashionable Premiership side higher up the table than Sale he would have been selected.
Sharks have no players in the England squad and only four representatives in the autumn internationals altogether: Scrum-half Chris Cusiter for Scotland, Italian pair Luke McLean and Alberto De Marchi, and Georgian Hooker Shalva Mamukashvili.
Lancaster has named an England side built for consistency with no room for ‘flash’ players which may go some way to explain the absence of the mercurial Cipriani, although he did admit that the squad could change with injuries.
He said: “We are still monitoring a number of players injury-wise and with another intensive round of European games to come there are likely to be additions to the squad.”
Sale travel to Clermont on Sunday for their second pool game of the European Rugby Champions Cup following their heart-breaking loss to Munster in the dying seconds.
Main image courtesy of BT Sport via YouTube, with thanks.
