Danny Cipriani ready to prove a point ahead of his return to England duty as he prepares for Wasps farewell

Interview: The mercurial No 10 opens up on his England recall and his ambitions for the future as he looks ahead to the summer tour of South Africa

Danny Cipriani has been told by Eddie Jones to “bring some creativity” to the England squad when the Wasps fly-half’s international exile ends on this summer’s tour to South Africa.

Wasps fly-half Cipriani has revealed he had five Premiership clubs on the phone asking for his services when his recall by England was announced last Thursday, as the previously reluctant Jones finally handed the 30-year-old the chance to make his first Test appearance since 2015.

But Cipriani learnt the news of his selection second-hand, from club-mate Tommy Taylor who was watching a sports news channel on his smartphone over breakfast in the Wasps team room in Coventry.

It triggered the end of a six-month saga over where the much talked-about No 10 will be playing next year – Cipriani’s transfer to Gloucester was announced on Monday – and he described how it had “not been easy to hold out” against offers from clubs in France and ignore “advice to chase a load of money”.

A move abroad, with Japan also on the rumour mill, would have ended Cipriani’s dream of adding to the 14 caps for England he earned between his debut aged 20 in February 2008 and the short straw in summer 2015 of being tried as an understudy full-back by then coach Stuart Lancaster.

Laying bare his emotions and motivation, four days before what could be his final match for Wasps in Saturday’s Premiership semi-final at Saracens, Cipriani said: “It’s still my burning desire to play for England. I’d never given up on it, otherwise I would have signed contracts months ago.

“Eddie is very diligent in speaking to his wider squad. Going into World Cup year [2018-19] you could have three or four unfortunate injuries so he’s got to keep people ready at any moment. I had conversations with him over the phone or text that definitely helped but there were still decisions to be made.

“I just have to go in and put my best foot forward. Eddie has said that he wants me to bring some creativity.

“This is not some hero story, staying here to play for England. It’s just what I want to do, because I want to represent my country, and I want to be able to keep delivering a good message that you can make mistakes, learn from them, get better and move on and keep driving forward.

Ciprani is delighted at being offered another chance to play for England (Getty)

“That message grows further when you play for your country. It’s about making my mum proud for everything she’s done for me.

“When Tommy Taylor told me at the breakfast table, it was obviously nice for me to hear it. I’m very excited about going on tour. But as soon as that happens, you’ve got to change you mindset, change your goals and it’s about trying to stay there, try to have a positive influence, because if you’re just stay happy with getting in the squad, then it’s a fast route out.

“For me, technically, I’ve always wanted to stay in the Premiership. I do love the attrition. And I’ve always been attracted by this side of French rugby. There’s been conversations, I’ve been back and forth, just having to hold out. England is a huge driver of mine; it’s now down to me to make sure things go well.”

Dai Young, the Wasps director of rugby, described as “commendable” the willingness of Cipriani and fellow Wasps departee James Haskell to keep fighting for their England spots by staying in the domestic league – Haskell having agreed a one-year deal to switch from Wasps to Northampton.

But Young has rarely praised Cipriani’s defence, and the no-nonsense former Wales and Lions prop piled the pressure on ahead of the semi-final with Saracens, saying: “I think on the weekend Danny’s defence will be tested, without a shadow of a doubt. And I think that could be the difference between us winning and losing the game.

Cipriani has not played for England since 2015 (Getty)

“The No 10 channel that he’s in is a big avenue where they [Saracens] are going to attack. They’ll send [centre Brad] Barritt down there. We’ve talked about the battle of the gain line. There’s other people involved in that as well and we know that’s going to get targeted. We have to be up to it.”

Cipriani is well aware of pundits singing his praises and being delighted at an overdue recall for a man who is among the five nominees for the Premiership’s player of the season award to be announced on Wednesday, while others have focussed on notorious aspects of a rollercoaster career in the public eye, across his stints at Wasps, twice, Melbourne Rebels and Sale Sharks.

When he predicted a tougher Premiership next season, he also joked that Gloucester had recruited especially well. “‘Oh no, he’s arrogant’,” he added, mimicking an unseen commentator.

But Cipriani is serious enough when it comes to the imminent head-to-head with Saracens’ England captain Owen Farrell, whom he may have to dislodge in South Africa if he is to get an England start.

“He has consistently stayed at the top of his game for a while now, he drives and runs the team,” Cipriani said of Farrell. “He's the focal point of Sarries’ attack and it is underrated how much they achieve there. He has a huge amount of intensity and I'm looking forward to working with him on that tour.

“I have been trying to implement those parts in a game that the England coaches ask you to do and still move forward in the Wasps fashion. The intricacies of the details that Eddie wanted me to bring, with ball in hand.”

Cipriani is preparing for the challenge posed by Owen Farrell, both on the domestic and international stage (Getty Images)

Asked if he felt able to be true to himself in the England fold, Cipriani said: “Rightly or wrongly, I guess I’ve always been me, and it’s either put me in good stead or not.

“With Shaun Edwards [formerly at Wasps] and Brian Ashton [formerly in charge of England] it was great. They put me in charge of a team full of internationals - at the age of 19, 20 with Shaun. And Brian gave me the licence. And I was able to do everything I can, and drive it. Definitely along the way I’ve learnt lessons and mistakes that do happen

“[But] I think mistakes get viewed as such a negative thing now. When a kid makes a mistake, he gets told off and in trouble. You learn from mistakes - it’s how you keep improving, how you keep getting better. That has to be a message for people to understand, because you wouldn’t get to the top unless you make mistakes – everyone does it. So for me the mistakes I have made, hopefully I am the best version of myself right now, and I can keep improving in the next six to eight weeks, on tour and in the last couple of [Wasps] games.”

Cipriani is thinking of flying his mum to South Africa, if he is picked to play in one of the Tests in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Bloemfontein.

And he admitted “there might be some truth in that”, when reminded of Jones’s assertion soon after Cipriani played for England A in South Africa in 2016 that he could only “the main man” in a squad, not a number three or four player. But Cipriani added the rider that Jones had not witnessed him being a good team player while he was making his ultimately unsuccessful bid to play in the previous year’s World Cup.

“People talk about how well you’re playing and I think maybe people wanted to talk more about me because of the sentiment of my last home game for Wasps. Then the last game of the season [at Newcastle, when Wasps secured third place], it’s all fallen into place pretty well.

“But I’ve been here before and it’s not about following the wave up and down, otherwise your emotions keep riding with it. It’s about staying on an even keel.

“I cannot let my emotions rise to it, in the same way that if you have a bad game, I can’t suddenly feel terrible about myself. I have done that and do not want to do it any more.” So would the 18-year old Cipriani recognise the latter-day version? “He would give him a high five,” said Cipriani with a smile.