Danny Cipriani’s new autobiography Who Am I? has been causing a bit of a stir, even in a busy week for rugby. Suffice to say, if the former England fly-half had represented his country as successfully and frequently as he says he chatted up the nation’s women, his caps record would never be beaten.
The line that really hit the spot, however, had nothing to do with his – how to put this best – lively personal life. Forget the “squad” rotation details serialised in The Times and focus instead on Cipriani’s thoughts about why England were so reluctant to pick him. For years, he suggests, they have been keener to pick players who are the quickest to get back up off the floor after a ruck or a tackle, a traditional indicator of both desire and fitness. Cipriani sees it slightly differently. “I’m thinking, ‘Who gives a shit? Surely it’s more important what they do when they’re actually on their feet?’”
And there, in a nutshell, is the debate now splitting English rugby. Call it Roundheads v Cavaliers or Pragmatists v Musketeers. Or, if you prefer its more modern incarnation, Owen Farrell v Marcus Smith. Actually, that’s not entirely fair on Farrell and Smith, both valuable players in their differing ways, but it does neatly capture the point Cipriani is making.
Because Cipriani is bluntly expressing what the rest of us have been trying to articulate for years. For a variety of reasons rugby in England – and a few other places – has been instantly suspicious of mavericks or anyone possessed of slightly left-field vision. You can see why not every coach wanted to place their whole professional futures in the socially busy hands of Cipriani but, equally, what might have come to pass had they done so?
Actually, we do sort of know the answer to that. When Cipriani was finally invited by Eddie Jones to start in the third Test against South Africa in a sodden Cape Town in 2018, he responded by winning the game for England with an opportunistic cross-kick which, he now admits, was a punt in every sense of the word. Relying on instinct as opposed to cool-headed calculation, he duly produced something out of the ordinary which paid off handsomely.
Cipriani’s reward? He never played for England again. Which tells you much about the lack of trust in the unorthodox that has become English rugby’s defining trait. When the going gets tough – and even when it isn’t – the reaction is to play the percentages rather than think that little bit smarter.
All this has seemingly reached its logical conclusion under Steve Borthwick, to the point where no-one is trying much at all any more. Maybe it will all come right on the night against Argentina in a hot Marseille on Saturday but, lately, it has been almost painful to watch. What is worse: to lose having utilised the attacking artillery at your disposal or having barely attempted any shots whatsoever.
The other killer line to be published in recent days was to be found in these pages at the weekend. In a revealing column, Nick Evans, England’s attack coach during this year’s Six Nations, was recalling his first week in the job. “There was no attacking system before that,” he revealed, adding that England had sought to go into matches looking to be hard to beat rather than proactively looking to win them.
No surprise there, you might say, to anyone who has seen England play this year. But Evans – another gifted international fly-half – was also identifying the fundamental issue that has been holding England back. In their desperation not to be undone defensively they had retreated so far into their shells they had basically forgotten the way back out.
As it happens, England’s defence has also been increasingly rubbish, with 30 tries conceded in nine games this year. But their bigger crime, arguably, has been to find themselves miles out of step with the way the faster-moving modern game is now going. Even when South Africa won the 2019 World Cup, based squarely on their “Bomb Squad” and indomitable pack, there was a dash of genuine electricity in their back three and the same still applies.
New Zealand, France, Australia, Scotland, Fiji, Argentina and Italy, to name but a few, will also all be coming at opponents at pace in the coming weeks. Ireland’s wingers, Mack Hansen and James Lowe, are roving danger men who can also make the unexpected happen. This World Cup will emphatically not be won by teams who decline to take even the slightest of risks.
Maybe Cipriani protests slightly too much but, personally, I’ve always found him to be thoughtful and unafraid to be his own man. Talent without application is a notoriously frustrating combination but Cipriani has always cared deeply about his rugby.
It is too late now, at 35, for him to re-energise England’s World Cup campaign but perhaps his rugby philosophy – without the more salacious off-field titbits – should be pinned to a few dressing-room walls in the coming days. Visionaries can rock the boat but, without them, there can only be strictly limited imagination. Better to aim high and fall short than settle for dull, formulaic failure.
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