The Independent's Chris Hewett argues that Toby Flood is more of a playmaker than Jonny Wilkinson, though neither has Danny Cipriani's game.
"If it is not quite enough to persuade Danny Cipriani to abandon his plans for a spell of self-imposed exile in the Australian rugby desert of Melbourne, it must surely be enough to make him kick the nearest cat. Precisely two years ago, Brian Ashton dropped Jonny Wilkinson for the last game of the Six Nations Championship and gave Cipriani the opportunity to run Saturn-like rings round Ireland, which he promptly did. It seemed as though a brave new world was dawning, but the light faded to black when Ashton was sacked by the Rugby Football Union.
"To all intents and purposes, Cipriani disappeared into the same darkness. Wilkinson may have been dropped again – instead of starting against the French this weekend, he will be slumming it on the bench – but this time, the most gifted of England's outside-halves is out of favour and out of mind. The current red-rose hierarchy do not like him, and the feeling is mutual."
RSS feed
