Revealed! Why talented but petulant fly-half Danny Cipriani has become an England outcast

By Chris Foy for the Daily Mail
Updated: 18:26 EDT, 27 February 2010

Danny Cipriani’s fall-out with the England management team that has led to his transfer to Australia can now be revealed.

Two years after an outstanding full Test debut at Twickenham which saw the Wasps tyro lead Ireland a merry dance after being promoted in place of Jonny Wilkinson, Sportsmail has learned that Cipriani, 22, indulged in petulant antics while with the Saxons in Italy earlier this month.

His behaviour prompted outrage among fellow players and fury from the coaches of the national A team.

Sportsmail has been told that Cipriani:

• IGNORED instructions in training
• WALKED OFF after being reprimanded
• MOCKED manager Martin Johnson while watching England play Wales on TV
• OPENLY supported Wales rather than England

Must TRY harder: Danny Cipriani's bahaviour during England training has outraged his fellow professionals

It explains why Cipriani, the most exciting attacking option available to Johnson, is an outcast from the national team and why England’s response has been cool over his move to join the new Melbourne Rebels franchise.

However, the fly-half-cum-full-back has spoken of a deep sense of frustration and depression over his treatment by Johnson and his coaches, saying: ‘I would like to have been treated with a little more sympathy by people in the game.’

Kicked to touch: Cipriani's attitude has scuppered his chances of excelling at international level

But it has emerged that in training before the match against the Azzurri’s second string, Saxons head coach Stuart Lancaster ordered his players to go through drop-goal drills at the end of the session. Cipriani ignored the instructions.

First, he prepared for a drop goal, but instead punted the ball high to the corner and one of his unsuspecting team-mates spilled it. The players re-set themselves and this time Cipriani opted to run and pass, again leading to a fumble. Finally, with Lancaster reiterating that he wanted drop goals, his celebrity stand-off sent through a low kick instead.

At this stage, Lancaster called the team into a huddle where he implored them to be more precise and clinical, but Cipriani said they had done enough and started to walk off.

The coach is reported to have exploded in rage.

And when the Saxons squad in Italy watched England’s RBS Six Nations opener against Wales at Twickenham 19 days ago, Cipriani is alleged to have openly supported the Welsh as they mounted a second-half comeback and celebrated with gusto when Adam Jones scored a try for the visitors.

A source has also indicated that the player delivered a series of barbed comments whenever cameras panned on to Johnson in the stand. He is known to believe that the England manager has unfairly overlooked him, saying in a weekend interview: ‘I would like to have spoken to Martin a lot more.’

Other players in the travelling party were taken aback by Cipriani’s conduct. He had not long returned from an uncle’s funeral in Trinidad and by that stage he had resolved to join the Rebels, so it was perhaps — metaphorically speaking — a two-fingered salute to the regime he felt had failed him.

His representatives will doubtless portray both episodes as harmless high jinks, but that is not how they were interpreted by those present.

Changing of the guard: Cipriani (left) replaced Jonny Wilkinson in the England time

Furthermore, it is important to set the incidents in the context of long-standing concerns about his attitude.

One source who is aware of what went on in Italy wearily remarked: ‘It is not the first time.’

Rewind a year or so and there were rumours that Cipriani was involved in a bust-up with one of the management at a training camp in Portugal. Sportsmail understands that he had a serious verbal exchange with Johnson after rejecting orders to take part in a ‘bleep test’ — used to assess and improve fitness.

There have been problems at club level too.

This is a player who came through the Wasps academy and emerged as a sensational home-grown talent, but one with baggage.

He enraged team-mate and World Cup-winner Josh Lewsey to such an extent that the former England back knocked him out with a punch in training. He is also thought to have ruffled more feathers by refusing to tackle during a reserve game for the club.

In the past fortnight, former England captain Will Carling revealed that he had decided not to manage Cipriani after concluding that he was not as hell-bent on reclaiming his Test place as he should be.

‘I do not believe Danny’s focus is on playing for England,’ he said.

His sentiments echo those of the national management.

Those who hold the keys to his Test future hope he improves as a player and matures as a man during his two-year stint Down Under.

Cipriani was unavailable for comment last night.