RFU next up as club fine Cipriani £2k
DANNY CIPRIANI was fined and given a community service order by Gloucester yesterday but now he faces a third investigation into last week’s bust-up at a Jersey hotel bar. The 30-year-old England fly-half pleaded guilty to charges of common assault and resisting arrest in St Helier following an early-hours incident last Wednesday. He was fined £2,000 by magistrates and ordered to pay £250 in compensation to a woman police officer who was bruised in the altercation. That was investigation No 1. The second happened yesterday when Gloucester acted to punish their new signing, who found himself in trouble even before making his club debut. Gloucester took a supportive stance and a meeting with the club’s hierarchy ended with a measured response. Cipriani was fined another £2,000 and ordered to spend 10 hours coaching local children. A Gloucester spokesman said: ‘We are in agreement with the magistrate in Jersey that this was a minor incident. While Danny is very apologetic, we do not believe he is guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and he will continue to get our full support. Danny has now faced disciplinary action from both the courts and his club.’ Those words were aimed at the RFU disciplinary panel. Gloucester feel it should be case closed but now both the ‘mortified’ Cipriani and his club will await trial No 3 at Twickenham. While that will take place later this week, the whole process has already come under fire. When the Union announced last week that Cipriani was being charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game, Gloucester CEo Stephen Vaughan reacted with fury, effectively accusing the governing body of persecuting the player as a result of intense media scrutiny. If found guilty of offences which have already been punished twice, Cipriani faces the threat of another fine or, more damaging, a suspension, just when he will be desperate to stay in favour with Eddie Jones, the England head coach. Jones recalled the former Wasps and Sale playmaker in may, having previously harboured doubts about him. Cipriani made a good impression in South Africa and forced his way back into the Test side for the series finale, reclaiming the No 10 shirt he had last worn a decade earlier. He then set up the decisive try for Jonny may in a consolation win. The man who made way was George Ford and the leicester stand-off is keen to reclaim the place that he lost in Cape Town. ‘I was really happy with how I played in those first two Tests,’ said Ford yesterday. ‘I did exactly what I was asked to do. It makes me even more hungry, if that is possible. I’ll just use it as fuel.’ Asked if Jones had offered any advice, Ford said: ‘Yeah, just to be myself. I want to run the ball more, play more naturally and be more of a threat with ball in hand. ‘After the first two games in South Africa, Eddie said to me, “There’s not much I can say to you, really, it is just a gut feeling that I have to change things up”. ‘You respect that as a player. You don’t necessarily agree with it, but you respect it and do what is best for the team.’