WARRIOR V WIZARD
Farrell and Cipriani are the heartbeat of their teams and today’s contest between rival No 10s will be box office
WHEN Saracens face Gloucester in this afternoon’s first Gallagher Premiership play-off at Allianz Park, the game will revolve around a box- office contest between the rival No 10s.
Owen Farrell is the England captain and multiple titlewinning Lion, renowned as a supreme warrior-playmaker. Opposite him will be Danny Cipriani, who is striving for inclusion in Eddie Jones’s World Cup squad after claiming both the RPA and Premiership Player of the Year awards.
Much is made of perceived differences between the pair, in terms of playing style and character, but similarities are also apparent as they discuss this match-up — and others reflect on Cipriani’s exploits for his new club…
OWEN FARRELL
‘DANNY was a superstar at a young age, wasn’t he? He could do some electric things. I remember that game against Ireland (Cipriani’s England debut in 2008). He won the Heineken Cup early with Wasps. Played full-back.
‘You remember some of the tries he was involved in and scored. It’s the same now — he is quick, gets himself out of tackles, beats people and is exciting.
‘Danny’s a good player and he’s a big part of what Gloucester are doing. I know him a little bit, but I don’t know him as well as I know some others.
‘ He looks like he’s taken control ( at Gloucester). I worked with him a fair bit on tour last summer and a fair bit in the last World Cup camp.
‘I’ve seen the way he likes to do things. You see a lot of that in Gloucester now. He seems to be getting a lot out of them but also putting everyone in place to get the most out of themselves as well, which is a good thing for the team.’
DANNY CIPRIANI
‘RUGBY is about making decisions and executing them — whatever your style or however you look to do it. You’d say Alex Goode is more flamboyant (than Farrell), but Owen makes decisions and executes unbelievably well and to me, if I was a coach, that is how I would want to drive a team.
‘A lot of sportsmen have very similar DNA. People make a thing about the characters of me and Owen, but I get on really well with Owen.
‘He is a very diligent athlete. The way he looks at things — and the way he drives things — he is meticulous. You can learn from all the people around you.
‘ In 2015, during three months of training with England, I learned so much from Andy Farrell, from George Ford and from Owen, too.
‘I am trying to learn all the time. Hopefully I’m still maturing. There is so much I still want to achieve over these next couple of months.
‘ Hopefully I can go out and execute well this weekend, be involved in the (England) squad and put my best foot forward.’
BEN MORGAN GLOUCESTER’S ENGLAND No 8
‘DANNY has been completely instrumental in how we’ve been playing. I don’t think there’s anyone who plays at the line like he does. He’s got a big box of tricks that he can pull from and they’re all disguised. ‘He can throw a 30-metre pass or a two-metre pass, and you don’t know where that ball’s going. ‘That’s a skill and I don’t think anyone else can do that,’ said Morgan (left). ‘And people don’t see how particular he is in training. All the hard work he puts in during the week pays off at the weekend. ‘ Danny and Owen Farrell are in such pivotal positions. All the play goes through them. I think they’re both very competitive, they both want to win and they’re the heartbeat of their teams.
‘There’s probably a pretty close similarity between them in that aspect.’
MARK McCALL SARACENS DIRECTOR OF RUGBY
‘CIPRIANI is a brilliant player. He does many things so well but we don’t necessarily focus on him.
‘The focus is on trying to win a lot of other things which make his life more difficult. That’s the key to it. If he gets front-foot ball and he’s playing off momentum the whole time, he’s very, very good. Obviously we want that not to be the case.
‘We want him to have some difficult slow ball and that makes the decisions that much harder for him.’
JOHAN ACKERMANN GLOUCESTER HEAD COACH
‘Danny has been tremendous from day one. He contributes so much with his skill and his attacking mind- set and deserves all the accolades he is getting.
‘There is a lot of unseen work by the guys around him to put him in the right positions, but there is no doubt Danny has world- class skill and he has shown that in a lot of the games. He makes people think. He brings us the X-factor.’
WILLI HEINZ GLOUCESTER CAPTAIN
‘Danny has had a massive impact. He’s a pretty hard task- master, but you need those personalities who won’t just settle for mediocrity. It probably took us a few weeks to get used to him at the start of the season. We were thinking, “This guy is just on us all the time”, but that’s what we needed.
‘ There’s also the unreal things he can do in a game; the passes he can throw and the vision he has. He understands the game better than any other player I’ve played with.
‘I’m sure he would be an unbelievable asset to England if he was lucky enough to get a call-up again.
‘ Danny is sometimes misunderstood — he’s actually all about the team and I know he won’t be going out there worried about what Owen Farrell is doing.
‘He’ll be making sure he does his job and he’ll drive the team around him to make sure everyone else is doing that as well.’