Since the arrival of Cipriani, Gloucester have featured heavily in the news and not just for their performances on the pitch. Cipriani brings a celebrity like status to Kingsholm. But was it this that has seen him dropped from the latest England training squad?
England coach Eddie Jones was in attendance as Gloucester saw off a strong test in the form of Castres, beating them 19 points to 14. But with the England squad announced on Thursday for England’s four November internationals, has Cipriani done enough to earn a place?
If it is consistency that Eddie Jones is looking for then the answer might be no, the last 10 minutes saw Cipriani falter multiple times. He failed to take advantage of overlaps that would have resulted in a more comfortable Gloucester win. Further to this, he misplaced kicks into touch on the full from outside his own 22. Now this might seem a little pedantic, but are we really saying that those mistakes against New Zealand ,for example, would not go unpunished?
“There’s a lot of players at Gloucester he’s coming to watch.”
Danny Cipriani and co, looking to impress Eddie Jones at Kingsholm this afternoon 👀@gloucesterrugby v @CastresRugby kicks-off at 1pm.
📺 BT Sport 2 HD pic.twitter.com/VI9upNpCyr
— Watch #ShoulderToShoulder on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 14, 2018
However, it is creativity that the fans feel Cipriani would bring to the England setup. His ability to do something special is clearly there, his pass to Tom Marshall was delayed superbly and led to their only try of the game. But when the pressure mounts and the line rushes up can he deliver on the international stage? Our Twitter followers seem to think so!
Does Danny Cipriani deserve a place in Eddie Jones’ England Squad? #glawsfamily #EnglandRugby @ShedWeb
— Park Life Sport (@ParkLife_Sport) October 15, 2018
Thanks to Alex Davidson for use of his images.
Danny Cipriani shines as @Gloucesterrugby start their @ChampionsCup campaign with victory over @CastresRugby. pic.twitter.com/hdomB7RyRj
— Alex Davidson📷 (@photodavidson) October 14, 2018