Dan needed miracle to sway Eddie
CIPRIANI FORGIVES AXING BUT DYLAN IS IN DESPAIR
DANNY CIPRIANI claims it would have taken a miracle of biblical proportions for him to make England’s World Cup squad.
English rugby’s player of the year opened up on his selection snub as injured captain Dylan Hartley admitted that after the squad announcement it was “almost like I’d died”.
Cipriani lost out in the fly-half selection to Owen Farrell and George Ford despite sweeping the board in individual accolades last season and steering England to victory in his last start.
“If I was picking the team, I’d have picked myself for sure,” said the Gloucester star. “But I don’t, Eddie Jones does, and he has put his faith in Ford and Faz, who have done well for him.
“Going into a big competition, I would have had to turn water into wine to really sway him. It would have been very difficult to do so.”
Asked if he had been given a proper chance to stake his claim, having spent little more than a fortnight in camp this summer, he said: “What is a fair crack of the whip?
“I can’t go in there demanding any time. Eddie is in a high-pressure situation being England coach and he has done a great job.
“I can completely understand why he made his decision.
Do I think it was the right decision, I don’t know.”
Cipriani’s reaction does him credit as he has every right to be fed up with the way he was dumped after snapping England’s losing streak in Cape Town last year.
“There have been worse things happen in my life,” said Cipriani at the Gallagher Premiership Rugby season launch.
“This is not a test of my mental toughness. I have had to learn a lot over the past 20 years. I have made mistakes and my mistakes are probably a bit more public than others.
“But do I keep trying to move forward? Yes I do. There are not too many people that have a golden ticket in life.”
Across town, Hartley was telling how his gamble on fast-tracking himself back to fitness failed, costing him his place in Japan.
“I tried an approach with my knee, a very aggressive approach, because I was given some deadlines to meet and it did not work,” he said.
“I basically ended up in a worse position for trying to come back too early.
“I’ve had a long time to come to terms with where I’m at but still, when the squad was announced, it was almost like I’d died, with friends getting in touch and seeing if I was OK.
“The World Cup would have been the ultimate send-off, the dream finish to an international career.
“To fall at the final hurdle… I wake up most nights thinking about it.”