A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB
Cipriani faces toughest Test of his career
DANNY CIPRIANI ended his 10-year quest for an England start by warning he intends to make the shirt his own.
The mercurial fly-half will complete one of rugby’s most amazing comebacks when he leads the attack against South Africa at Newlands tomorrow.
A decade after his last Test start ended with a record home loss to the same opposition, Cipriani finally gets another chance – at the age of 30.
And he insisted: “I want to be in this England team for as long as I possibly can.
“I’ve been in and out of it for a while, a lot of it down to my own doing and sometimes due to different personalities. But I’ve persevered and made sure I’ve done everything I can to get back in.”
When Cipriani last started an international Steve Borthwick was captain and current skipper Owen Farrell two years away from making his Premiership debut. Borthwick is now an England coach, four years retired from playing, while Farrell has 60 caps.
“I never gave up hope,” said Cipriani, who is tasked with ending England’s six-game losing run and, perhaps, saving boss Eddie Jones’ skin.
“Of course there have been times when you think, do I go away or not, but for me, my bigger picture was always England.” His chance might have come earlier had he not been done for drink-driving the morning after his 33point England masterclass against the Barbarians in 2015. But a colourful back story, also featuring being hit by a bus, only makes this revival more remarkable.
“Do I regret the mistakes I’ve made? No, because I wouldn’t be here right now,” Cipriani said last night.
“Ifs, buts and maybes, could I have had this or that? I don’t know. Right now the opportunity is ahead of me.
“I want to be the calmest guy on the field so when the pressures come and things are going 100mph, people can turn to me and understand I can be thorough in what we’re doing.”
Both teams make four changes to their starting lineups for this third Test, with the Springboks also bringing in a fresh fly-half in Elton Jantjies. The absence of the Vunipola brothers opens the door for Joe Marler and Nathan Hughes; Chris Robshaw benefits from Brad Shields falling victim to food poisoning.