Premiership player of the year Danny Cipriani has been accused of falling apart under pressure by a former England World Cup winner.
Speaking exclusively to 888sport the former British and Irish Lion Steve Thompson pointed towards Cipriani’s performance for Gloucester in their 2019 Gallagher Premiership semi-final.
“His big, big chance was in that semi-final because if you’re a player going into a semi-final in such a strong position as 10 you’ve got to have your best game. But he just fell apart.
“The pressure came on and he just fell apart. That was his time to stand up and say ‘look, this is why I should be picked’. And he didn’t.
“Don’t get me wrong in games he does so many things right,” added the former Northampton Saints hooker.
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“But at international level it’s the things you do wrong and sometimes his basics just aren’t there. Then he tries to do something special and that’s what teams prepare for.
“South Africa and New Zealand would just keep going at him until he made those mistakes and that’s 14 points.”