England recalls Cipriani, picks Shields for SA tour

FLYHALF Danny Cipriani has been rewarded for his outstanding form for Wasps by being picked in England’s squad for the tour of South Africa next month.

Cipriani made his last international appearance during the build-up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup and has since been repeatedly overlooked by coach Eddie Jones, who had misgivings over his attitude in a team environment. His last start for England was a decade ago. Wasps-bound Brad Shields, captain of the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, is one of seven uncapped players selected by Jones yesterday for the three-test tour. Dylan Hartley misses out because of concussion so flyhalf Owen Farrell is named captain, while Danny Care, Dan Cole, James Haskell and Richard Wigglesworth have been rested. However, Jones has opted against resting any of his British and Irish Lions: Farrell, Maro Itoje and Mako Vunipola are among those included, while Billy Vunipola is present following his recovery from a broken arm. “We have an opportunity to create some history next month and win the test series, something no England side has done before,” Australian Jones said. “With three weeks to prepare for the first test in Johannesburg I am expecting players to come into camp with the right mindset. We will be looking for them to break the mold in terms of being more assertive and on the front foot in everything we do. We will need to be physically aggressive and tactically smart against the Springboks, who we know will be combative and reinvigorated by their new coaching setup.”