Danny Cipriani has accused Eddie Jones of lacking the courage to criticise him to his face after the England coach took a swing at the controversial No 10 in his recently released autobiography.
“He said more about me in a book than he’s ever said to me. That’s all I know,” Cipriani told The Times.
He’s never said two words to me but I found out everything I need to know from him through a book.
“How many times have I been turned down to play for England? It’s crazy. Was my intention right? I don’t know. I always felt like it was but perhaps it was giving off the wrong meaning to people.
“My intention to play for England might have been for self, for ego, or to prove people wrong. I don’t know fully until I let that go, which, in the last couple of weeks, I have.
“When I say let it go, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it but I’m in a much better frame of mind about it.”
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Danny Cipriani facts | 10 things you didn’t know about the fly-half
1. Sporting talent
A keen all-round sportsman, Cipriani played junior football for Queens Park Rangers and was offered youth terms by Reading. He also played schoolboy cricket for Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Cipriani was invited to join Surrey County Cricket Club as a batsman. He also played squash at county level
2. First rugby club
He first played club rugby at Rosslyn Park in Roehampton, where he developed his passion for the game.
3. Heritage
The fly-half is mixed-race; his father is Afro-Trinidadian with some Italian heritage while his mother is English. Cipriani’s father, Jay, and his mother, Anne, separated soon after his birth. Although Jay returned to Trinidad, Cipriani was able to remain in contact with him.