NEWS ARCHIVE
Rugby World - Sept 2008
THREE MONTHS on from the worst moment in his short, professional life, and the Danny Cipriani who was shedding tears as he was carried off the Adams Park field having seen his foot rearranged is now smiling, which is good to see for any follower of English rugby. The dislocation and fracture of his right ankle, that occurred in the 49th minute of the Guinness Premiership semi-final play-off against Bath, was as hideous an injury as seen for some time in rugby, but the talented 20-year-old is now only looking forward. “I’m convinced I will return better than I was before for the experience,” he insists, having just officially opened the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games at Crystal Palace. “I will be fitter, stronger, faster, and much better educated in the sport for the time out I’ve been forced to take.
“Of course I worried about whether I’d ever play again. My first reaction was to say ‘why me?’, but now I’ve no doubt I’ll come back as good as new. Being injured and having that time out just makes me even more hungry to succeed. When I come back I want to be fitter, stronger and faster than I was.
“I’m mentally stubborn and there’s no doubt in my head that I’ll come back. I know my recovery is going to be painful at times, but it’s something you have to go through.” But what a time-out it was. As injuries go, what happened to the Wasps and England fly-half was not only serious but cruel. In the blink of an eye or, in Cipriani’s case, the time it took Olly Barkley to tackle him and a pile of forwards to land on top of his right leg, he had been transformed from the new darling of English rugby to a crock, and with it went his appearance in what proved to be a winning Premiership final against Leicester, and the two-Test England tour to New Zealand.
“That’s why I was crying as they carried me off,” he says. “It wasn’t so much the pain, more the realisation that the Premiership final had gone, probably the tour to New Zealand and maybe even my career.” Up until that point the season, save for his nightclub indiscretion that cost him an England place against Scotland, and his subsequent four-letter word on TV following his game against Ireland, had been one of dreams. He had played some of the most inspired rugby of the season for his club, won two caps from the bench, and then produced such a perfect performance against the Irish on his first start that he automatically replaced Jonny Wilkinson as England’s first-choice No 10.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the game against Ireland and yes, in many ways, it was a dream coming true for me,” he says. “I’d thought about that day so often before it happened and afterwards I said to myself that having had a taste of it I wanted so much more.” There was the mouth-watering prospect, too, of a tour to New Zealand and the chance to face up to Dan Carter. “I won’t lie to you. Of course I thought about New Zealand and I reckoned, after the Ireland game, I stood a good chance of making the England squad. I had some massive games ahead with Wasps so I put my excitement about New Zealand to the back of my mind, but it was there.” Or at least it was until 18 May, the day when he came up against Bath in the semi-final. There are times when players don’t comprehend how injured they are at first. In Cipriani’s case, it was pretty difficult not to. “I knew I was in trouble when I looked at my foot and saw that it was pointing in the wrong direction,” he reveals. “Up until then it had been numb, but as soon as I saw it I felt the pain.
“My whole body went numb because your body shocks. It was a weird feeling when I first did it. I could feel my ankle, it felt like really bad cramp, and then I saw the ankle turning outwards and the pain kicked in. When I realised it wasn’t pointing in the right direction it was a bit of a shock.
“I’ve got to give credit to the medical team. They put the foot virtually back into place there and then on the pitch. After I needed oxygen to quell the pain, that’s when I got to thinking how serious this injury might be. “At 11pm that night I saw the X-ray and saw the state my ankle was in before the operation and how it was after the surgery – it was dead straight, so all the doubt in my mind was removed. Credit to the surgeon, James Calder.” Understandably, Cipriani was down for a while afterwards, at least until he was operated on, although his club and his friends did their best to cheer him up.
“There are a lot of people I need to thank for keeping me happy,” he says. “Ed Lewis-Pratt, my mate from Rosslyn Park days who’s now at London Welsh, told me every time I said something negative to shut up because I’d be back better than before. Shaun Edwards and Lawrence Dallaglio came to visit me in hospital, as did Olly Barkley, who said how gutted he was that the two of us couldn’t play alongside each other in New Zealand. Dominic Waldouck stayed the night with me twice to give me support. He was on a cramped hospital bed which kept being banged every time the nurses came in during the night to check up on me. Tim Payne was another who was really helpful because he came back from a bad injury well, while Ieuan Evans, who had an almost identical injury to mine, told me how he returned an even better player.”
Cipriani’s state of mind improved even more when first the cast came off, and then the large protective boot was removed from his right foot. “The ankle’s still a bit swollen but it’s going down all the time,” he reports. “I also took the chance to have surgery on my shoulder, which had been troubling me all season. I felt as if I should get everything done while I had the chance. The end result is that I’m going to have a good, long pre-season, and I expect to be in great shape when I finally return in November.” He also expects to know the game a great deal better, even if he won’t have played for more than half a year. “Shaun [Edwards] told me that all the great rugby players from both codes became great students of the game, and that’s what I intend to do,” Cipriani says. “I’ve got some time on my hands, and I will use some of it to study the game, certain matches, players and moves, and emerge with a far greater understanding. It doesn’t make up for not playing, of course.
“This is by far the worst injury I’ve ever suffered, and it means I will be out for about seven months. I’m already really missing rugby, and I’m appreciating it a lot more now that it’s been taken away from me, but I’m going to try to make it a positive experience.”
Cipriani certainly hasn’t let the grass grow under his feet during his absence, getting involved in a number of off-field projects such as Rugby Expo and the 31st Balfour Beatty London Games, which engages 25,000 young Londoners to compete in 30 sports. Since Cipriani’s injury, Martin Johnson has become the new England manager and for the young man who watched the 2003 World Cup final avidly at home that Saturday with family and friends comes only joy at such a turn of events. “He was awesome during that World Cup, absolutely awesome, and now as a coach he’ll be bringing all his experience to the England squad. Under him, for example, England won something like 13 back-to-back Test matches against the big three from the southern hemisphere and that’s the kind of mentality I hope we get from him over the next few years.”
Judging by the recent tour of New Zealand, it cannot come soon enough. “I watched both Test matches on TV and, firstly, I really wished I’d been there,” Cipriani says. “Some people have told me it was a good tour to miss, but I would never take such a view. If you get the chance to play for England you should always take it, and especially if it gives you the chance to pit your skills against the very best away from home.
“The All Blacks were very powerful. They looked fresher than us, which isn’t surprising considering we’d just finished a gruelling season, and their execution was very clinical. That’s something we need to work on. “That said, I thought my Wasps team-mate Tom Rees had an excellent couple of games, as did the back-row unit as a whole. I also studied Dan Carter closely. He is quite clearly the best stand-off in the world, not only against us but also South Africa. He has so much control, and so much authority.” So what now? According to the recuperating star, his new boss Johnson has been supportive on the phone. “He’s told me that he wants me back, but only when I’m 100%. There’s no pressure been put on me at all, which is good to know.
“I’ve long got over the disappointment of what happened to me, and the pain. I’m so very grateful to everyone at England and Wasps, and to all my other friends too for helping me through what’s been a difficult period of my life. “Now I’m consumed only by positive thoughts. I intend to look back on the present and view it as a learning experience, one that was put to good use. When I do return I expect to be a much better player and person for the experience.” As he continues to rehabilitate, Cipriani can look back on what has been a remarkable year. There was his shock axing from the Scotland game. “I learnt from that how I need to be a role model.”
There was the amazing first start against Ireland. “It was the reason why I’d worked so hard for so long.” And there was the catastrophic injury. “I hope that’s my one bad injury over and done with.” Now, finally, the future. “I’ll be fresh for the start of the business end of this season, with Wasps and hopefully England in the Six Nations and then, at the back of all our minds, is the Lions tour. I can’t raise my hopes, especially at the moment, but like everyone else it would be a dream to become a Lion. Right now, I’ll be happy just to play again, but I’ve tasted enough in my short career to want everything.” The chances are that Danny Cipriani will get his wish.
Danny Cipriani’s value to both Wasps and England is illustrated by these official statistics from last season’s Guinness Premiership. He set up 11 tries – more than any other player – and there were six tries of his own among his 192 points.
Guinness Premiership Try Assists 2007/08
| Pos | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Cipriani | 11 |
| 2 | Shane Drahm | 10 |
| 3 | Chris Malone | 7 |
| 4 | Shaun Berne | 6 |
| 4 | Adam Powell | 6 |
| 4 | Charlie Hodgson | 6 |
| 4 | Andy Goode | 6 |
| 8 | Ryan Lamb | 5 |
| 8 | Glen Jackson | 5 |
| 8 | Riki Flutey | 5 |
| 8 | David Lemi | 5 |
Statistics: Opta Index
Guinness Premiership Kicks from Hand 2008/08
| Pos | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Hodgson | 293 |
| 2 | Andy Goode | 224 |
| 3 | Ryan Lamb | 195 |
| 4 | Alberto Di Bernardo | 192 |
| 5 | Shane Drahm | 159 |
| 6 | Glen Jackson | 154 |
| 7 | Chris Malone | 140 |
| 8 | Danny Cipriani | 131 |
| 9 | Peter Hewat | 129 |
| 10 | Willie Walker | 125 |
Guinness Premiership Points Scored 2007-08
| Pos | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Goode | 207 |
| 2 | Charlie Hodgson | 194 |
| 3 | Danny Cipriani | 192 |
| 4 | Glen Jackson | 179 |
| 5 | Olly Barkley | 173 |
| 6 | Ryan Lamb | 169 |
| 7 | Alberto Di Bernardo | 127 |
| 8 | Shane Drahm | 118 |
| 9 | Adrian Jarvis | 115 |
| 10 | Chris Malone | 107 |