ENGLAND SQUAD:DANNY CIPRIANI'S chances of regaining his England Test place in the foreseeable future look increasingly forlorn. Martin Johnson has made it clear that he does not regard the Wasps outhalf as a "unique talent" and rates him no higher than sixth in his current pecking order of outhalves, behind Toby Flood, Jonny Wilkinson, Andy Goode, Sam Vesty and Tom May.
Johnson did not say so directly at Twickenham yesterday but there is little doubt the England management are making an example of the gifted 21-year-old and will judge him by how he responds. Had there been a desire to put an arm round his shoulders and nurse him back to top form, a place could have been found in the 34-man squad to face the Barbarians and Argentina. Instead he finds himself heading for Colorado with the second-string Saxons. His faltering international career is caught between the Rockies and a hard place.
No player can ever be guaranteed his place and Cipriani would accept he partly contributed to his own downfall by returning too soon from the serious ankle injury he sustained last year. The fact remains, however, that he is on standby for the Lions and could yet be summoned to South Africa. If he were to make an impact there, England’s stance would look distinctly questionable.
For now, however, Johnson appears unconvinced that Cipriani has the requisite strength of character and says that Vesty, Goode and May (selected primarily as an inside-centre) are simply playing better rugby.
“Who’s perception is it that he’s a unique talent?” the manager asked. “He’s a talent as all these guys are and he’s got improvements to make. We just felt other guys had got ahead of him at the end of the season. It is pretty competitive. Sam’s been playing well, he’s just won the Premiership title for Leicester and he deserves a chance in the senior team.”
Johnson declined to say if behind-the-scenes issues had prompted the decision. “You talk to players all the time about where they are and what they’re doing. I’ve had very frank conversations with Danny but, if I wanted to make them public, I’d have put them on conference call. We see him as having a bright future in the game but right now we’ve made the call with the Saxons.
“It’s been a tough year for him in many ways. His club have had a difficult season, he’s coming off an injury and he’s been picked for England and left out. But so have any number of players. These are the facts of rugby life. How you deal with those is part of you as a professional rugby player. He’s not unique.”
Johnson mentioned Steve Thompson, David Strettle, Mathew Tait and Ben Kay, all of whom have battled back into contention after serious injury or a dip in form. Thompson (30) has not played for England for three years and retired with a neck problem before resurfacing at Brive.
Johnson was clear that Wilkinson’s new contract with Toulon incorporates all the necessary release clauses and will not rule him out of England contention. “If a world-class player with 60 caps who has appeared in two World Cup finals is playing, well, we’d be interested,” he said.
Guardian Service
ENGLAND SQUAD:Forwards: S Armitage (London Irish), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), G Chuter (Leicester), J Crane (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Wasps), B Kay (Leicester), N Kennedy (London Irish), L Moody (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), T Rees (Wasps), C Robshaw (Harlequins), S Thompson (CA Brive), J White (Leicester), D Wilson (Newcastle), N Wood (Gloucester) Backs: D Armitage (London Irish), D Care (Harlequins), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), B Foden (Northampton), A Goode (CA Brive), J Turner-Hall (Harlequins), D Hipkiss (Leicester), P Hodgson (London Irish), T May (Newcastle), O Morgan (Gloucester), J Noon (Newcastle), D Strettle (Harlequins), M Tait (Sale Sharks), S Vesty (Leicester), R Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks).
