Cipriani needs Japanese motivation now more than ever
Cipriaini has the ability and has shown he has the desire to get back to the top
©PA
Danny Cipriani pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest this week which leaves his England future in doubt.
Last week, Danny Cipriani couldn’t have been more unequivocal.
At Gloucester’s media day, he told TRU he was ‘hungry and determined’ to kick on at Kingsholm this season, as well as highlighting his desire to retain his place in Eddie Jones’s England plans.
During our interview, Cipriani used the phrase ‘Kaizen’ which is a Japanese word meaning “change for better.”
Since Cipriani moved back to these shores in 2012 after a spell in Australia with the Melbourne Rebels, it seemed as though he had embraced the ‘Kaizen’ principle himself.
His time ‘down under’ only enhanced the 'Cipriani' stereotypes. He was in the news for all the wrong reasons due to late nights out and breaching club rules, but Sale offered him a route back into the English game.
Of course, the infamous collision with a bus on a night out in 2013 was another chapter to add to Cipriani’s antics, but slowly, he started to do his talking on the pitch.
His raw talent was benefitting not only himself but Sale’s progression and soon after his move to Manchester, he was back at his boyhood club, Wasps.
'Kaizen’ is applied to continuous improvement and with Wasps, Cipriani maintained his upward trajectory. It opened the door for him to be noticed by England and his impressive performances meant pundits and fans alike were calling to see Cipriani back in the national side.
At first, Eddie Jones dismissed him and stuck with the tried and tested 10-12 partnership of George Ford and Owen Farrell, but this summer, the Australian handed Cipriani the moment he had craved for a decade; an England Test start.
England may have already lost their series to South Africa, but in the third Test at Newlands, Cipriani showed his class. His wonderful kick through for Jonny May’s try helped England clinch their only win over the Springboks and with a move to an exciting Gloucester team on the horizon for the 2018/19 season, things were going swimmingly for one of the country’s biggest rugby stars.
Even as recently as last month, his strict training regime in California suggested that Cipriani was out to prove people wrong yet again, but this week, he found himself back at square one and it is beyond frustrating, not only for him, but for England Rugby as a whole.
Cipriani pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest and was fined £2,000 for the two charges after an incident at a Jersey nightclub on Wednesday morning. He he was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to a female police officer, who suffered bruising to her neck.
On Friday afternoon, he was charged with improper conduct by the RFU.
It feels like Cipriani has thrown it all away after working so hard to get back to where he wanted to be. He will know that he has let himself down and he will know that he may have just squanded his chance to represent England on the biggest stage of all.
In May, Eddie Jones told Sky Sports News: “If he (Cipriani) is on the front page for any other reason (than rugby), he won’t be with us.”
Now, Jones has to make that decision with just over a year to go until the World Cup in Japan.
As a rugby fan and after speaking to Cipriani last Thursday, I hope he is involved with England once again over the next 13 months.
His influence against South Africa just highlighted what he can offer his country and not many players can perform the way Cipriani does.
He added another dimension to an England side that have struggled for results in 2018, but now, he must wait to see what the future holds following this week’s incident.
The immediate plan will be with Gloucester for Cipriani after the club have shown great loyalty to him this week, but the international picture will become clearer when Jones names his squad for the Autumn internationals.
After the aspects of ‘Kaizen’ saw Cipriani rise to the top of the game over the last six years, let's hope he can do it all again to keep his World Cup dream alive.
