Youngster takes aim at Wilko's spot

[Burgs]

Youngster takes aim at Wilko's spot

22/01/2008 7:44:23 AM
PA Sport

Bold seems an understatement to describe Danny Cipriani's comments that he is 'not here to be the number two' in England's Six Nations squad despite the presence of a certain first-five eighth named Jonny Wilkinson.

Cipriani has always set himself bold challenges - when he was 15 it was to make England's 2007 World Cup squad - but the latest is just about as big as they come.

Wilkinson is expected to be a guaranteed starter in the Six Nations Championship and it will take a special talent to oust him from that number 10 jersey.

But Cipriani is seen by many as the man to do it. Wales coach Warren Gatland recently predicted the 20-year-old could even become a bigger superstar than Wilkinson.

Cipriani allows none of that hype to faze him and is instead determined to learn all he can from Wilkinson - but also put the pressure on.

"It is obviously going to be a massive task to oust Jonny, he has done everything in the game but I am not coming here as number two," said Cipriani.

"It is understandable that whenever Jonny has been fit he has started for England because he has done an amazing job."

"Jonny has changed the face of rugby by himself. If I can learn from Jonny that will help me."

"I will give it my best shot to improve. I need to make sure there are no doubts about me as a player."

"If I was to have a chance to start a game I would do that to the best of my ability."

"It is great to hear people like Warren say things like that - but in my eyes I haven't made it yet. I want to get an England cap and then one day be a regular starter."

Wilkinson, who on Monday signed a new two-year contract at Newcastle, was only 18 when Clive Woodward gave him his England debut in 1998.

Cipriani is 20 but has been long tipped as an England international and, at club side Wasps, has been learning at the top end of European rugby.

Last season, he started at fullback in the Heineken Cup final and only missed out on the World Cup squad, and achieving that long-held ambition, when the final cut was made.

This campaign, Cipriani has made the Wasps number 10 jersey his own and is confident he can match the demands of Test rugby.

"No matter if you are 19 or 35 you have to be the general of the side. Imagine trying to boss Lawrence Dallaglio about - but that is what I have had to do," said Cipriani.

"There are World Cup winners throughout the side. I have played in some pretty big games and Josh Lewsey said the Heineken Cup final was the same intensity as international level."

"Being here and being around all the England players is what I have always thought about - but I still won't feel fulfilled until I get that first cap."

"And then I will be striving for more."

[AndyS]

Preferred over the Planet-Rugby headline "Cipriani eager to lift Wilkinson's shirt"?

[Burgs]

Hahaha!

[GIGS20]

"There are World Cup winners throughout the side. I have played in some pretty big games and Josh Lewsey said the Heineken Cup final was the same intensity as international level."

I wouldn't be listening to Josh Lewsey's assessment of the rigours of international rugby. He did bugger all if I remember correctly

[JediKnight]

I wouldn't be listening to Josh Lewsey's assessment of the rigours of international rugby. He did bugger all if I remember correctly

He won a RWC medal & put in one of the biggest hits ever seen on a rugby pitch.

This young lad looks a good prospect in the coverage of Wasps' matches that I've seen but is he ready at 20 years old? Only one way to find out.

[Burgs]

Cipriani must play - Dallaglio

23/01/2008 7:29:10 AM
PA Sport

Lawrence Dallaglio insisted (Well done old son, you managed to shut the f up for almost a whole month post retirement!!!) on Tuesday that England must pick Danny Cipriani for the opening Six Nations Championship clash with Wales - whatever his position.

The 20-year-old has shone at first five-eighths for Wasps this season but, with Jonny Wilkinson unlikely to be dropped by England, Dallaglio believes Cipriani would also offer a dangerous attacking option from full-back.

Dallaglio, Cipriani's club captain, said: "His skills and his potential future mark him out as someone I would put in the team somewhere."

"Clearly Jonny Wilkinson is still a formidable player and his experience will count in his favour.

"But if I was coaching England and didn't play Danny at 10 then I would play him at full-back. He has got the potential to have a bit of the Christian Cullen about him."

"I don't know what is going through the selectors' minds but people who are playing against England would be a lot happier if Danny Cipriani was not in the team."

"He has got unbelievable pace and has that wonderful kicking ability which you need at international level."

"At Wasps we were confident enough to play him in front of 85,000 people at full-back in a Heineken Cup final."

"There are other options at fullback and fly-half. I'm not just saying it because he's from Wasps, I'm saying it because he is an unbelievable talent. England should find room for him."

Cipriani would also face stiff competition for the full-back jersey in the form of Gloucester's in-form Iain Balshaw and Mathew Tait, who moved to 15 during the World Cup final.

England's head coach Brian Ashton has cautioned against fans expecting a side packed with newcomers, arguing that club form is not always preferable to international experience.

But Dallaglio believes Cipriani could make the same kind of startling impact this season that Balshaw made during his breakthrough campaign in 2001.

"If Josh Lewsey is not making the squad and Jason Robinson has retired, that would suggest there is an opening at full back," said Dallaglio, who was speaking at Twickenham in his role as Betfair rugby ambassador.

"They are looking at Tait but he's played a limited amount of game time at full-back and I'm not sure he's entirely comfortable in the position himself. He'd prefer outside centre."

"There is an opportunity there. It's not like Danny has never played a game there. He has played in the biggest club game in the world at this stadium and won."

"You would not lose anything from a tactical kicking game by having him there, and when you have that pace that a Balshaw had when he burst on the scene it could be exciting."

The emergence of players like Cipriani this season, on the back of England's surprise run to the World Cup final, has led to an surge in expectation levels for Ashton and his squad heading into the championship.

The Rugby Football Union's merchandising sales have hit levels not seen since 2004, when English rugby basked in the glory of the World Cup triumph in Australia.

Chief executive Francis Baron said: "We have underperformed in the last couple of years but hopefully we have turned the corner."

"Clearly we are ambitious and determined to get our success rate back to previous levels."

The RFU has confirmed that England will play four Tests in November - as agreed in the new deal with the Premiership clubs - with the additional fixture