Cipriani axed for spending 10 minutes in a nightclub

Their unprecedented action, which extended to removing the distraught 20-year-old from their flight to Edinburgh for Saturday's match against Scotland, provoked an embarrassing row over his summary dismissal.

As it emerged that Cipriani had called in at the Mayfair club to deliver a ticket for a friend and drank no alcohol during his 10-minute visit, head coach Brian Ashton was accused by former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio of over-reacting.

Ashton, not noted as a hard-line disciplinarian, acted decisively after asking the new full back, picked on Tuesday to start his first Test, how he came to be pictured leaving the club half-an-hour after midnight on Thursday morning.

Their conversation ended with Ashton finding English rugby's next big thing guilty of 'inappropriate behaviour', reinstating Iain Balshaw at full back 48 hours after dropping him to make room for the new boy and recalling Sale fly half Charlie Hodgson to the bench as goalkicking cover for Jonny Wilkinson.

No further disciplinary action will be taken against Cipriani beyond a warning as to his future conduct.

'I have taken the decision regarding Danny and the matter is closed,' said Ashton in a terse statement which failed to explain the reasons for such a draconian measure. 'I will keep an open mind about selecting him for future games.'

Wasps sprang to Cipriani's defence by claiming Ashton had got it wrong. Dallaglio said: 'To drop Danny is a complete over-reaction. All that he has been is a little naive. I don't agree that he was out particularly late and, having spoken to him, I know he is distraught.'

Ian McGeechan, Wasps' revered director of rugby who has coached the Lions on four tours, said: 'We are hugely disappointed with the decision and similarly disappointed for Danny himself. Danny was pictured outside a nightclub where he had gone in to see a friend.

'He had not stayed inside the nightclub for any length of time and he was not drinking. He was, at worst, naive in his action but no more than that. Given the circumstances, a measured response to his actions was required and I think this is a very harsh decision.'

Instead of limbering up at Murrayfield, Cipriani will be back at Wasps preparing for their Premiership match against Harlequins on Sunday.

'Danny has apologised for letting down the England squad and he wishes them all the very best,' said a spokesman for his management company on Thursday night. 'He feels distraught about what has happened but is preparing for Sunday's club match and will be making a statement on Saturday.'

Martin Offiah, the record-breaking ex-Wigan and Great Britain rugby league wing, had been with Cipriani earlier on Wednesday night after the player had been released along with the rest of the squad from their base in Bath before meeting up at Heathrow.

'I had dinner with Danny and he certainly had not been drinking,' said Offiah. 'He left saying he was going to drop off a ticket for a friend and then head home.'

A spokesman for the nightclub said: 'Danny was present at the bar for no more than around six minutes. He had a non-alcoholic drink and a chat with a friend but he was not drinking any alcohol. I think he was giving his friend some tickets. He left shortly after midnight, completely sober. He did not cause any trouble and was polite at all times.'

Ashton, never one to seek controversy, will not have taken his stand lightly. Anxious to avoid any destabilising effect on his team, he will have considered it a last resort. He has known Cipriani from the age of 14, having supervised his development in a previous guise as manager of the RFU's national academy.

But former England coach Dick Best described it as a 'massive wake-up call' for the player. Best, in charge for 17 Tests in the early Ninteties, said: 'It's not the smartest move by Danny and he's probably very upset at making such a foolish mistake. It's really disappointing for the boy and all the England supporters who were looking forward to seeing him play.

'He is a tremendous player and you cannot afford to leave players of that calibre out of the team. I hope he is brought back in for the Ireland game next week.'

Cipriani has always acknowledged the debt he owes to his mother Anne, a single parent who worked overtime as a London taxi driver to send her son to public school from a council estate in Putney. 'My mum has been amazing because she has worked so hard to provide for me,' he said recently.

'It was unusual for her, becoming a black cab driver and it was hard. There were times when she got attacked and I didn't want her to do it.'

Earlier this season, a Sunday newspaper claimed that Cipriani had a liaison with TV personality Larissa Summers, oblivious to the fact that it is alleged she had started life as Darren Pratt.