England fly-half Danny Cipriani sets sights on proving his creative worth to Eddie Jones in final South Africa Test

Ten turbulent years that involved clashes with Jones' predecessors Martin Johnson and Stuart Lancaster have produced only 15 caps, but Cipriani is ready to channel his gifts

Danny Cipriani will start at fly-half in the final Test (Getty)

Now that his decade-long wait to be reinstated as England's first choice fly-half is finally over, Danny Cipriani is intent on persuading Eddie Jones that he is the squad's most accomplished playmaker.

George Ford has been dropped by Jones for only the third time after making way for Cipriani in the final instalment of the series against South Africa. Ford has been jettisoned from the 23 completely. The Springboks have already built an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into Saturday's showdown at Newlands and the task facing Cipriani is to ensure the long wait until the autumn series is launched with a victory and not a sixth successive Test defeat.

Ten turbulent years that involved clashes with Jones' predecessors Martin Johnson and Stuart Lancaster have produced only 15 caps, but the 30-year-old is ready to channel the gifts that identify him as the most polished attacking 10 in English rugby.

“I want to be in this team for as long as I possibly can,” said Cipriani, who has swapped Wasps for Gloucester. “I’ve been in and out of it for a while. A lot of it is my own doing and sometimes it was down to different personalities, but I persevered and make sure I have done everything I can do to get back to the squad. I find a way.

“I wouldn’t be here now if things hadn’t happened in the last X number of years. Maybe I’d have had more caps, who knows? But now I’ve got an opportunity to represent my country and get back to winning ways on Saturday and that’s what I am excited about. My emotions are that I want to be the calmest guy on the field so that when international pressures come on, people can turn to me and understand that I'm thorough in what I'm doing.”

It was only at the latter stage the Premiership season that Jones started to be convinced by Cipriani's outstanding form for Wasps and he was subsequently included in his senior squad picked. The Australian held misgivings over his attitude, but has now been convinced that he is the right player to pull the strings.

Danny Cipriani impressed playing for Wasps (Getty)

“Technically he is playing a lot squarer. We wanted him to do that, taking the ball to the line which creates space on the outside, and I have been really impressed by his diligence on tour,” Jones said. “He has worked hard at his game, he’s got a bit fitter and we just feel his left foot could be pretty useful on the weekend. I coached against him when Saracens played Wasps (in 2008) and he actually won the game for Wasps.

“I was chatting to him about it the other day and he remembered every bit and piece of how he won the game, which I thought was quite interesting. Now I believe he can add value to the team. All the other stuff hasn’t been in my domain. He’s handled himself very well on tour. He's worked hard, worked with the other players, committed to the team values, communicated well to his teammates and to the staff and that’s all we can ask of him. He deserves his opportunity now.”