Eddie lays it on the line for troubled stars

With one year to the World Cup, Eddie Jones has a message for his troubled stars...

EDDIE JONES has told Danny Cipriani he still has a chance to play for England despite his recent arrest and conviction, but warned him that any further misconduct could wreck his World Cup ambitions.

Jones has one year of preparation remaining before his squad fly to Japan and there is still a lot of preparation required. Among the first items on the agenda are his plans for Cipriani and another back-line candidate who has found himself in disciplinary trouble again — Chris Ashton.

Sale’s new back-three recruit from Toulon appears to be in the England frame despite having been sent off in a pre- season game for a tip-tackle on Castres scrum-half Rory Kockott. But Cipriani’s prospects are on a knife-edge in light of his conviction for common assault and resisting arrest in Jersey last month. That led to fines from St Helier magistrates and his club Gloucester, along with a misconduct charge being upheld at an RFU disciplinary hearing.

Speaking yesterday at St James’ Park in Newcastle, where England will face Italy in the last of four World Cup warm-up matches, the message from Jones was that the 30-year-old fly-half will have to work hard and stay out of trouble.

‘It’s been dealt with,’ said the Australian. ‘He’s back playing and we’ll look at how well he plays. We never close the door on anyone. Everyone makes mistakes. He was very contrite and we move on from that now.’

Yet it is not simply a case of Jones being willing to forgive and forget.

‘Everything impacts on selection,’ he added. ‘If a guy gets in trouble all the time, you’ve got to have second thoughts about it. But he’ll be judged on what he’s done with us.’

Jones also revealed there had been a face-to-face meeting at the start of this week, saying: ‘I went down to Gloucester on Monday and had a quick chat with him.’

Cipriani’s performance against Northampton on his competitive debut for Gloucester at Kingsholm last Saturday drew lavish praise — especially the stunning, no-look pass which conjured a try for Charlie Sharples. But Jones was not interested in echoing all the eulogies.

‘I read some of the reports about him,’ he said. ‘Let’s get it into context. It was a good pass but just because one player throws one big pass, it doesn’t mean he has a great game.’

Ashton won’t play for Sale before the autumn series at Twickenham because of his seven- week ban but Jones revealed that he may still include the prolific finisher in his training squad later this month. A suspension does not preclude involvement in training, just participation in matches. Ashton could feature in November, despite a lack of game-time.

‘He’s keen, he’s desperate to play for England and if we think he can contribute to England winning, we’ll pick him,’ said Jones.

So many decisions and conundrums have to be resolved before the World Cup, including the captaincy. Now that Dylan Hartley is back from his latest concussion and playing, Jones must decide whether to give the armband back to the hooker or persist with Owen Farrell.

‘We need to see him play more rugby,’ he said of Northampton’s co-captain. ‘He’s definitely moving in the right direction. He gets people together. He’s a steadying influence. He’s been around, he’s seen the ups and downs. He knows when to be upbeat, he knows when to be tough with the players. He’s a very good captain.

‘Having said that, I was enormously pleased with what Owen did in South Africa. I thought he handled it brilliantly. So we’ve got two great options.’

There is also a state of flux within the management, although John Mitchell and Scott Wisemantel are due to be announced as new defence and attack coaches very soon.

There has been considerable turnover of back-room staff but Jones was bullish about that, saying: ‘There’s always movement. With staff it’s like with players, we’re always looking to see how we can improve.’

But he admitted that while some people have been removed from the set-up, some have

chosen to leave, adding: ‘ It’s always a bit of both.’

There’s so much to do and time is running out. Jones is adamant that he is close to finalising who he wants in his World Cup squad of 31 — but the search for ‘X-factor’ additions goes on.

He believes that the run of five consecutive Test defeats earlier this year exposed weaknesses in time for them to be rectified before the global gathering. Momentum must be re- established, though.

He is content to allow some positions within the team to be unsettled, for the time being, while seeking greater stability and clarity in certain key areas.

In truth, there are not too many of those at this stage, with 12 months’ preparation time to go. England will conclude that phase with a hot- weather training camp to replicate conditions in Japan, followed by warm-up matches against Wales home and away, Ireland at Twickenham and Italy up on Tyneside.

By the time of that rare, welcome northern venture, England have to be ready. Their tournament squad will have be officially submitted.

Before then, Jones has to tackle endless questions. He is convinced that he has the answers. Time will tell.

‘He’s desperate to play for England. If we think he can contribute, we’ll pick him’

‘Everyone makes mistakes. Danny was very contrite and we move on’

‘Dylan’s a very good captain... but we need to see him play more rugby’