YOU DON’T GET IN JUST FOR BEING GIFTED
Jones’s blunt message to ditched star Cipriani...
THIS was Eddie Jones talking about Ben Morgan yesterday but it could equally have applied to his Gloucester team-mate Danny Cipriani: ‘He is a gifted player, but gifted players don’t play Test rugby.’
To be fair, that wasn’t all of it. England’s head coach went on to say: ‘Test rugby is about being at your best, being consistent, working off the ball. That is how you win games of Test rugby.’
The point is that Jones was attempting to explain the complex selection equation — the rationale that is applied to every decision about who to pick. Performances are just a part of it. He is also weighing up workrate and character and countless other earthy qualities away from the highlights reels.
This time, the equation has equalled good news for Morgan, the No 8 who last played for his country in the 2015 World Cup and therefore must have long since concluded his international career was over.
It did not equal good news for his club-mate at Kingsholm, though. Cipriani will be devastated by his omission from the 36-man squad for next month’s Quilter Tests at Twickenham.
Having been named Premiership Player of the Month for September, as testament to his early-season form, the playmaker would have been confident of a recall. Instead, he is surely bewildered — widely feted but out of favour. He has won acclaim this season, but not from the man who matters most.
Jones described Cipriani as ‘our third-choice’ fly half, behind Owen Farrell and George Ford — but he is the incumbent No 10, having usurped Ford to start in Cape Town and help England secure a consolation win over South Africa in June.
Since then, he has been left out of a training squad. Jones insisted that was a form issue, not related to his prosecution for common assault and resisting arrest after an incident in Jersey during the summer.
It was the same message yesterday, as the head coach claimed Cipriani remains in World Cup contention, but said: ‘I’ve had discussions with him. There are areas he needs to work on. He understands that.
‘It comes down to a judgment. People think he played well but maybe I don’t think he played that well. That’s a judgment. We’re all entitled to judgment and mine is the most important.
‘The judgment is that he’s the third-choice at the moment and I’ve made it very explicit to him, what he needs to work on. That’s all I can do.’
Jones confirmed that he had passed on the news to Cipriani in a phone call but added: ‘Whenever you tell a player they’re not in, the rest of the conversation is a bit of a blur. Have you ever had a girl tell you that she doesn’t love you? You don’t remember the rest of the conversation.
‘When you tell a player they’re not in, they say “Yes, yes”, but they don’t hear anything.’
Cipriani will fear the worst after this latest selection setback. No amount of plaudits will ease his personal angst.
It is a different situation for Morgan, who will re-join the squad next week for the training camp to prepare for South Africa a fortnight tomorrow.
His last game was in the calamitous World Cup defeat against Australia at Twickenham — a result which effectively brought down Stuart Lancaster’s regime. Late last season, he was struggling to get into the Gloucester side, but some home truths from head coach Johan Ackermann have had the desired effect.
Morgan has been fitter and more effective this season. In the absence of Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes, his recall makes sense. ‘He is massively fitter,’ said Jones. ‘He has massively changed his work-rate.
‘His coach at Gloucester has had a massive influence on him. Johan has done a great job with him, got him fitter, got his desire back to play rugby really well. He deserves this opportunity.’
England have been hammered by injury problems. They have 16 leading players unavailable for selection.
As well as No 8, loosehead prop is a crisis position but Jones said he did not ask Joe Marler to reconsider his international retirement.
‘Everyone has a choice how they prioritise their life,’ he said. ‘He’s made his decision, to me, in a very logical and coherent way. Good luck to him. But I’ve told him the door is always open.’
The autumn series will be a tough one for England — South Africa followed by New Zealand, Japan and Australia. Jones recognises the pressure to oversee a revival after the run of defeats last season, but he is not losing sleep about it.
‘If we don’t win any of these matches, I’m probably not going to be here, so we need to win a few,’ he joked. ‘It doesn’t worry me. If they come and tap me on the shoulder tomorrow and tell me “You’re not in the job” so be it.’
It was all said with a grin and bullish belief.
Despite the injuries and debate about the omission of Cipriani, Jones exudes confidence and enthusiasm. He will need those qualities next month.