‘I’m at peace and not worrying about England spot’
Danny Cipriani is loving life at Gloucester and not fretting over Jones snub, writes Mick Cleary
‘It is about looking for growth and being the best I can be for my club’
The only peace to be found for Danny Cipriani at a raucous Kingsholm tonight when Exeter Chiefs come looking for revenge will be of the inner kind. A stoic and reposeful sense of self has enabled Cipriani to come to terms with his in-out England fortunes and to focus solely on driving Gloucester consistently towards the heights they managed to hit last weekend at Sandy Park when they all but extinguished the Chiefs’ Champions Cup hopes.
Cipriani, who moved from Wasps in the summer, is relishing the moment, at one with his new surroundings and its passionate match-day backdrop, and wholly at ease with whatever England selection throws up.
“I feel at peace with my day-today life, let alone life on the field,” said Cipriani, looking to provide a repeat of the performance six days ago when Gloucester did an Exeter on Exeter. A controlled display took them to an unheralded 27-19 victory and made them the first team to win at Sandy Park in 10 months. “It is about finding a way to put the best version of yourself out there, of putting the team first, about showing that we all believe how good this squad can be.
“You have got to accept it [the England situation]. That has been the same story for six years. And it hasn’t got to me in the sense of sitting at home worrying about it. It is not about me thinking that if I do this I’ll win player of the month, as that all becomes a bit selfobsessed. It is about looking for growth and being the best I can be for Gloucester. If nothing else comes of it, it won’t be for lack of trying. But it is about the team, that if we can challenge for top two [in the Premiership] and get out of our Champions Cup group, that will mean a lot more to me than this self feeling I would get playing for England.”
Cipriani’s move to Gloucester has worked wonders for both parties, his England omission – despite finishing the tour to South Africa as the starting fly-half – notwithstanding. A partnership of director of rugby, former Ireland stand-off David Humphreys, and South African head coach, Johan Ackermann, whose hard-nosed yet empathetic influence is only just beginning to come to the fore, has awoken Gloucester.
The side are in better physical shape under the direction of Dan Tobin, the former Leinster strength and conditioning man. Lock Ed Slater has disclosed that he is 22lb lighter than last season. Factor in, too, the emergence of wunderkind wing Ollie Thorley, with his barnstorming running, and the teak-edged contributions of a clutch of South Africans, with Springbok lock Franco Mostert making his first Gloucester start against the Chiefs.
What they all realise is that tonight’s encounter against an injury-hit Exeter side is something of an acid test, the game in which they have to back up last week’s result. Gloucester have been capable of encouraging one-off showings only to dip thereafter. Ackermann appears to have ingrained more consistency into their work. A packed Kingsholm will be watching intently. Gloucester have only once finished in the top six in the Premiership in seven years, while it is a decade since they made the knockout stages of the European Cup.
“Our message [all season] has been about ‘playing to inspire’, and Friday does have that added impetus,” said Cipriani. “Rugby is the main sport in Gloucester and many go to work just so they can go and watch a game of rugby at the weekend. There are so many people waiting at the stadium for us, in the wind, in the rain, just because they love it. There is the chip shop opposite; you could do a movie about this place, it is so special. Playing for the town and playing to inspire means you are playing for a bigger picture than yourself. It is up to us to enable them to walk away with a smile.”
Eddie Jones keeps in touch with Cipriani, as he does with all players in and around the England squad. Cipriani chuckled when yet
another question about his England prospects was put to him.
“I guess it is nice that questions are still being asked because it means I must be playing halfdecent,” said Cipriani, who stated that it was not the promptings of Jones or Ackermann that pushed him on. “If you start relying on coaches to get the best out of you, it could change in an instant. It is about finding your own inner drive. No matter what stage of your career you are at, you want to be challenged. If you are in a happy environment, obviously that helps as you will be playing better.”
And Cipriani, wiser, more rounded, looks at home at Kingsholm.