No England player will settle back in his seat on the flight to New Zealand feeling more relieved than Danny Cipriani. The last time he flew out to the southern hemisphere to play rugby he was in exile, a Melbourne Rebel without a clue about how to regain the national selectors’ faith.
Suddenly he is back and set to feature in Saturday week’s first Test against the All Blacks in Auckland, his international destiny unexpectedly back in his own court.
There tend to be all kinds of misconceptions about Cipriani but it is impossible to miss his fervent desire to maximise this precious opportunity after a six-year hiatus. Had George Ford not required a shoulder operation the 26-year-old would not be on the plane to New Zealand but sporting life is full of examples of men who have prospered when the stage was intended for others.
The new model Cipriani is certainly wiser than the whizz kid from Wasps who, like a modern-day Icarus, flew too close to the celebrity floodlights for his coaches’ comfort. He now appreciates international rugby is not a game for fly-by-nights, however naturally gifted they may be. “I think it’s just a part of life that, as you grow up, you chill out a bit more,” he says softly. “I want to come away from this tour a better rugby player, give the best I can and show [the coaches] I want to be an England rugby player more than anything.”
Even his choice of in-flight reading material underlines his change in attitude since he began working with Jonny Wilkinson’s old mentor, Steve Black, a year ago. Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, is all about trusting your instincts which, some would say, has occasionally been Cipriani’s downfall off the field. Harnessed correctly, though, why should the innate vision that remains his strength as an attacking fly-half not be transferred to other aspects of his game? “It’s about going with your instinctive decisions rather than taking the time to think and trying to adjust. About 90% of the time our instincts are correct. You can take things out of that and apply it to rugby in terms of your decision-making.”
If the prodigal son sounds more thoughtful these days it is because he knows he has to be. “I’m slowly getting my confidence back but it’s all got to be within the team shape and team structure. I feel like I spent most of my young career playing on the front foot. But during the second part of my England career [in 2010] I was often on the back foot and didn’t really have the keys to unlock it. These last two years at Sale I’ve had to learn how to do that. ”
It may well be that Cipriani finds himself on the bench for the first Test, behind Freddie Burns, and has to settle for a peripheral role when Owen Farrell and Stephen Myler join the party. Even if that happens, he swears he will knuckle down and be an unselfish tourist. “I’m just excited to be going on tour with England … it’s something every kid dreams of. You don’t want it to be an easy ride. When it is tough and there are obstacles to overcome, that’s when you feel like you have achieved something. Every day I am trying to be the best I can be and to keep improving.”
It will be fascinating to see if he can replicate his Sale form in an England shirt and revive memories of his finest hour, his stunning performance against Ireland in the 2008 Six Nations. In hindsight he feels he should have spent only one year playing in Australia rather than two but what is done is done. It is the future that counts, specifically countering the All Blacks. “It is going to be challenging but everyone is excited about testing ourselves. We know what is in front of us. It is about rising to that challenge, and then some. Yes, it will be an emotional time for me but it’s all going to be positive emotion. This is hopefully just the beginning of me trying to improve and get to where I want to be.”
