Danny is given a reality check

Listen up: new England star Danny Cipriani (left) receives some words of advice from Wasps skipper Lawrence Dallaglio

13 April 2012

Danny Cipriani admitted today he was brought down to earth with a bump on his return to club duty with Wasps following his headline-grabbing display against Ireland last weekend.

The 20-year-old fly-half has received an extraordinary amount of media attention, most of it highly flattering, since his 18-point haul at Twickenham ended England's Six Nations campaign on a high.

No stranger to the spotlight after his ill-advised trip to a London nightclub two days before the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland, Cipriani is taking it all in his stride.

Speaking at the launch of Rugby Expo, Cipriani told of the reality check he received on his return to the club's notoriously spartan training ground in Acton.

"Shaun Edwards [head coach] and Ian McGeechan [director of rugby] congratulated me on my performance," Cipriani said. "But Shaun is not one to go on too much about it and neither is Geech. They just said I had to get my head right and get into a Wasps mood.

"That is Shaun's way. As soon as the England boys get back from duty he likes to hammer them a bit."

And with Margot Wells as his sprint coach, Cipriani is not concerned about getting too big for his size 10s.

He said: "I'm very fortunate to have had these people around me.

"I assure you if I was to step out of line then Margot would quickly hit me back into line."

Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio, meanwhile, sounded a warning to the club's rivals today, predicting the reigning Heineken Cup champions were on course for more silverware.

Wasps tackle Leicester in the EDF Energy Cup semi-finals in Cardiff on Saturday, with victory not only taking them into a Twickenham final but also one step from automatic qualification for next season's Heineken Cup.

Dallaglio said: "This a big game between the teams who took part in last season's Heineken Cup Final and we have a lot of history of winning cups between us.

"Some of us don't get the chance to play at Twickenham these days and the opportunity to appear there is a huge motivating factor."

Despite supplying a host of players to England and scrum-half Eoin Reddan to Ireland, Wasps have enjoyed success in Guinness Premiership matches played during the Six Nations, a fact that gives Dallaglio deep satisfaction.

"Our international players have returned to a club that have collected 13 Premiership points from the last three matches and we have generated some very good momentum," he said.

"The guys who were on duty have done a fantastic job and we can now look forward to no more disruptions for the rest of the season.

"We are also getting some of the injured guys back as well."

Wing Tom Voyce could be ready to face Leicester next weekend and flanker Tom Rees is back running again after the knee injury he suffered against Wales.

"We are in great shape for the business end of the season," Dallaglio added. "While some people may think the EDF Cup is our best chance of making Europe next season, everyone at Wasps is still eyeing a finish in the top four to qualify for the play-offs."

Meanwhile, Saracens, who face Ospreys in the other semi-final, have announced that director of rugby Alan Gaffney is to assist Leinster next season while maintaining his links with the north London club on a part-time consultancy basis.

Gaffney will be stepping down as director of rugby at the end of the season to be succeeded by Eddie Jones.

MORE ABOUT

Nightclubs

Richmond, London

Six Nations Rugby

Twickenham

Danny is given a reality check

Read More