Former England fly-half, Danny Cipriani is preparing to come out of retirement for the MND charity hybrid game and has had his say on his controversial former Red Rose coach Eddie Jones
Danny Cipriani is the latest former England player to round on Eddie Jones insisting: “He’s not somebody I’d want to lead my country.”
The dazzling former Gloucester and England fly-half has not played for two years and officially retired in January. But he flies in from his new home in the US to feature in Sunday’s first-ever hybrid 745 Game in aid of motor neurone disease. Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care recently blew the whistle on Jones’ reign as England coach likening some of the Aussie’s tactics to “bullying” and a “dictatorship.”
Cipriani is regarded the greatest attacking talent in a generation but was infamously only capped twice by Jones in his seven-year stint at Twickenham. He said: “My experiences of Eddie are he probably felt that I would stand up to him too much and he didn’t feel like he could bully me so he just didn’t bring me into the environment.
“I always said what I feel, and what I feel isn’t ever controversial. It’s only controversial to a coach who wants it to be done their way and isn’t open to seeing another viewpoint.”
On the current Japan boss, Cipriani added: “I’m not here to bash Eddie, (but) as an individual he’s not somebody that I’d want to lead my country because of the way he carries himself. That’s his experience of the world. I know he’s had a tough one and he’s got his chip on his shoulder and he leads with that everywhere he goes, and he’s always in a fight.
“I don’t think he’s happy with the way he’s behaving and the way he is. I think it’s all he knows how to do. So I also have compassion for him.”
The unique hybrid rugby clash, meanwhile, sees international stars from both codes clash at Headingley. It was the brainchild of late Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow and former Leicester and Gloucester forward Ed Slater, who is currently battling MND and is a former team-mate of Cipriani’s. Cipriani, 37, said: “I can’t wait. It’s a bit of a dream because I’ve always wanted to play a league game and I’m getting to do a bit of both now.
“But to represent Ed, Doddie (Weir) and Rob is great. We all struggle with the politics of the world but this is a game for the people and for three men who have put their hearts on the line. The only reason I’d put my boots on was for someone like Ed – and play a game for the people where we can all create a day which is going to go down in history.”
Cipriani, who will link up with former England team-mates including Tom Youngs and Billy Twelvetrees, insisted: “I’m more than fit enough to play professional rugby right now. But there’s no one who can pay me enough money to do it because of all the squabble that goes with it.
“But for human beings that I’ve met and spent time with, Ed was a leader who led with his heart and compassion. And he was one of the few players I’d see who’d stand up to coaches and says the truth, not just go with what’s said all the time. Sometimes it’s not best for the squad: he had that masculine energy to him that I respected and I’ll do whatever I can to help him in that way.”
Ex-Wasps star Cipriani will be up against England rugby league legends such as Danny McGuire, Keith Senior and Gareth Ellis and admitted he always fancied playing league. He said: “I had some conversations, very sparingly. But my dream was always to play rugby for England. That was always my North Star and it taught me everything I needed to know about myself. But I would learn from players in rugby league more than anyone. I spent two years in Melbourne with Andrew Johns, and I learned an awful lot from him in terms of the way he saw the game.
“Obviously Shaun Edwards was my first coach and I spent hours with him on Saturday mornings when I was a kid. Ball-playing is not fully understood in union yet so that’s why I’d always go to league and learn from that.”