Cipriani to benefit from Jackson ‘no’
ENGLAND No 10 Danny Cipriani has been offered to Sale in an attempt to keep alive his dream of making the World Cup. The talented fly-half is out of contract with Wasps and most clubs are not in the market for his position.
Sale rejected the 30-year-old’s initial wage demands because director of rugby Steve Diamond already has a first-choice option in AJ MacGinty.
But a move for Irishman Paddy Jackson, who was cleared of rape last month, has stalled and Sale could re-ignite their interest in a player who left them to join Wasps in 2016.
Cipriani (right) was recalled to the England team on Thursday for the three-Test summer tour of South Africa. It his first call up under Eddie Jones – having not started a Test for his country since 2008 – but he must find a Premiership club to remain eligible for selection.
Jones has warned the playmaker to ‘leave his dinner suit behind’ and stay out of trouble to avoid being sent home from next month’s tour. As the Premiership’s in-form No 10 with Wasps, Cipriani warrants selection ahead of George Ford in the starting XV against the Springboks.
‘Danny has got nice talents,’ said Jones. ‘He shows that all the time but can he translate that to being in a squad at Test level?
‘Some players struggle with that. Now I think Danny has the ability to do that and we are going to give him the opportunity to do that – whether it is starting a Test or coming off the bench or shining boots – we don’t know.
‘Just make sure you tell him to drive his car North-South. When you want to get to the try-line you have to go straight, not sideways. And tell him to leave his dinner suit at home. You can’t play rugby in a dinner suit.’
Ford was dropped for the final game of the Six Nations and has been part of a struggling Leicester team.
‘The conversations I have been having with George is when I remember seeing him as a 17-year-old playing for Leicester when he just played the game,’ said Jones.
‘Unfortunately, in certain teams they want the 10 to play as part of the system and that takes away his instinctiveness. So I know he is a good player but he needs to be instinctive.
‘The pressure the 10s have on them to perform – they are a quarter-back without any protection, and that pressure is becoming more as line-speed becomes more aggressive.
‘George can play the game, it is getting his mental, physical and emotional balance right, and you can go in and out of that.
‘As a 10 you can’t be there all the time. Particularly when you are a bit more instinctive like he is, you tend to go in and out a bit. I am confident he will get it back.’