Everything and nothing has changed for Danny Cipriani. At first glance he is Wasps’ prodigal son, back at the club where it all began for him. In other ways he is starting completely afresh in a new part of the country with new coaches and team-mates. Perhaps it should be no great surprise the much-travelled fly-half sounds slightly unsure what to expect as he awaits the fast-approaching domestic season.
On a gorgeous late summer’s day at Broadstreet RFC on the leafier side of Coventry’s ring road, it did not feel as if he has chosen the world’s worst workplace, although his injured colleague Kurtley Beale is already pining for the post-training dip at a local beach that was routine back in Sydney. Clearly the Wallaby has yet to be introduced to the azure waters and equally inviting towpath of the Stratford-upon-Avon canal a few miles down the road.
For Cipriani, though, this is no time for idle distractions. Having re-signed for Wasps from Sale Sharks, six years after leaving the then Londoners for Australia, he is a man on a mission to squeeze whatever is feasibly left from a career that has yet to yield total fulfilment. If his omission from Eddie Jones’s wider England squad in the summer did little to ease that nagging sense, neither did the conviction for drink-driving that has cost him an 18-month driving ban and a total of £7,620 in fines and costs.
Hence his visible desire to start the season with a bang on the field as opposed to supplying the gossip columns with more juicy ammunition. Jones does not finalise his first-choice squad until 30 September, so there is still a tiny window in which to impress the Australian with his commitment and ability. When the planets are aligned and his forwards supply a half-decent platform, there remains no more gifted attacking catalyst in the country.
A desire to play behind a stronger pack was among Cipriani’s primary reasons for opting to switch to Wasps, regardless of their move from Acton to the Midlands. He reckons he “fell back in love with the game again” during his stint with the Sharks, but, at 28, could also feel the tug of a fresh challenge. “I was enjoying my time at Sale – I really did love it there – and there was a lot of opportunity to go to France, but I just weighed things up and felt this was the right place to be at this stage in my career.
“There are a lot of top players on the teamsheet here who will give us front-foot ball. As for the guys in the backline, you can see their credentials. It’s about us now building as a team and developing together.”
He is also realistic enough to know life will not be as straightforward as in his youth, when he won the Premiership and the European Cup as part of an all-conquering, multifaceted Wasps squad.
“It did feel easy. I was surrounded by great players. Things changed a bit with injuries or whatever … I learned more about the game, had my time away and now I’m excited to be back. I want to get some silverware for this club.”
When everyone is fit Wasps will have a spectacular backline, but Beale is not expected to be fully available until early December after knee surgery, Willie le Roux is unlikely to arrive until the new year and Kyle Eastmond and Alapati Leiua are short of fitness. As a result Jimmy Gopperth may feature outside Cipriani at 12 against Exeter on Sunday, with the head coach, Dai Young, refusing to guarantee anyone an automatic starting place. “It’s not my job to keep everyone happy, it’s my job to try and win things. It’s like Arsène Wenger said, if you want to play every week go and play for Derby.”
Cipriani still believes he has plenty to offer. “I’m 28 and not 34. Everyone is going to be pushing to reach the bar set by Eddie Jones and his squad in Australia; everyone is having to push their standards up. Any English player wants to play for England, but if we win trophies with this club then the just deserts will come from that.”
