DANNY IS BACK
...TEN years after his last start!
DANNY CIPRIANI is destined to reclaim the England No 10 shirt he last wore in a Test match a decade ago. The 30-year-old fly-half had been in exile since Eddie Jones took charge at the end of 2015 and has not won a cap for his country since coming on as a late replacement during a World Cup warm-up fixture against France earlier that year. But a storming end to the season with Wasps finally earned him a recall to the squad for this tour of South Africa. Jones will name his team this morning for Saturday’s third Test at Newlands and Cipriani is set to be picked ahead of England’s established No 10, George Ford. Astonishingly, he last started a Test way back in November 2008 — the year of his breakthrough as a rookie sensation. This is the moment he has been waiting and hoping for — and the moment the English rugby public have been waiting and hoping for too, such is the popular acclaim for Cipriani’s creative brilliance. Doing enough to convince Jones that he even deserves to be considered for a starting place is a triumph in its own right. Jones is expected to make two other changes to his starting line-up, with Joe Marler and Nathan Hughes promoted to replace the absent Vunipola brothers. Meanwhile, the RFU were last night forced to deny reports that England forwards coach Steve Borthwick recently sought a way out by applying for the head coach post at Ulster. In light of Paul Gustard’s departure to take charge of Harlequins after this tour, any suggestion that Jones’ other leading assistant was in the market for another job would have damaging implications. An RFU spokesman said: ‘Steve Borthwick has not applied for any other coaching roles since he joined in 2016.’ A source close to Borthwick insisted the former Test captain was sounded out by Ulster but rejected the approach. ENGLAND (probable): Daly; May, Slade, Farrell (capt), Brown; Cipriani, Youngs; Marler, George, Sinckler; Itoje, Launchbury; Shields, Hughes, Curry. Subs: Cowan-Dickie, Hepburn, Williams, Wilson, Simmonds, Spencer, Ford, Solomona. DRAW for next season’s European club competitions: Champions Cup — Pool 1: Leinster, Wasps, Toulouse, Bath. 2: Castres, Exeter, Munster, Gloucester. 3: Saracens, Glasgow Warriors, Lyon, Cardiff Blues. 4: Scarlets, Racing 92, Leicester, Ulster. 5: Montpellier, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Toulon.
Challenge Cup — Pool 1: Northampton, Clermont Auvergne, Dragons, Timisoara Saracens. 2: Pau, Ospreys, Worcester, Stade Francais. 3: Sale, Connacht, Bordeaux-Begles, Perpignan. 4: La Rochelle, Zebre, Bristol, Enisei-STM. 5: Benetton Treviso, Harlequins, Agen, Grenoble.