Former England fly-half Danny Cipriani’s future at his club Sale Sharks attracted further speculation amidst his omission from the team in its 25-18 loss to his former club Wasps, yesterday.
The 25-year-old Cipriani, whose father is Trinidadian, has struggled to find form this season, and with rumours of tension between administrators and players at Salford City Stadium, the once bright prospect will need to improve his form drastically in order to help the club escape potential relegation.
Last week, Sale added to its woes of just one victory since the start of the league campaign when it suffered a humiliating record 62-0 loss to French club RC Toulonnais in Pool 6 of the Heineken Cup.
It was then that management opted to leave Cipriani off the squad for its next match, a league fixture against his former club Wasps, which it lost, but with a bonus point in an improved performance.
The loss was Sale’s tenth of the league campaign.
And, while Sale has struggled to reach beyond the try line, its defence has attracted most of the team’s criticism. Cipriani’s leakages have come under the spotlight from the club’s interim director of sport John Mitchell, who chastised the former Under-19 and senior England international.
“If you can’t defend, there’s no place for you in Premiership rugby. Danny had a dreadful game in defence last week (against Toulon),” said Mitchell.
“If you’re not prepared to put your body on the line for this club who pays your wages and give(s) you the chance to play at the highest level each week, then you won’t be in the squad.”
Despite the mouthful directed at Cipriani, Mitchell chose not to rule out a possible return once performances improve. “I don’t care where he played before. All I’ve asked for him to do is defend. Our defence was good last week until he chose to be an individual. You have to serve your team-mates before yourself. If he improves his defence, he’ll be back involved again,” Mitchell said.
Cipriani has made three international appearances for England’s Under-19 team, before being promoted to the senior team, where he featured on seven occasions.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt