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Ashton told his banning of Cipriani will spark a backlash
Chris Jones7 Mar 2008
Brian Ashton was told today that leaving Danny Cipriani out of the Calcutta Cup match against Scotland would be a decision he would live to regret.
Ashton will explain his reasons for dropping the Wasps player after his late-night visit to a London club on Wednesday night at a Press conference this afternoon.
Cipriani was due to make his first England start in the Six Nations clash at Murrayfield but has now been replaced by Iain Balshaw. It is a decision World Cup winner Matt Dawson cannot
understand and one he believes will rebound on the coach.
He said: “Danny's reputation has been tarnished and Brian Ashton has a lot to answer for. There will be a furore about this and he [Ashton] has brought it all on himself — it has nothing to do with Danny Cipriani. England may rue leaving him out of the team.”
Yet Ashton's decision has won widespread approval in many quarters, with former England centre
Jeremy Guscott and hooker Brian Moore both of the opinion that Cipriani only had himself to blame.
Guscott said: “They are professional guys and they know they can't behave like that. It is a bit naive of him to get caught. We never got caught in the old days.”
Moore added: “He [Cipriani] has shown an incredible arrogance in believing that he is somehow so good or so special that he can do what he wants just two days before his first England start.”
And within the squad itself, though, the full-back's omission by the head coach appears to have won approval. Flanker Lewis Moody said: “In sport you've got to abide by the rules. It's a team game, you can't just do what you want — that's the way that it goes.”
Cipriani, 20, insisted he was desperately sorry for what had happened, saying: “Playing for
England means everything to me and I am totally heartbroken not to be taking part against Scotland on Saturday.
“It's a harsh punishment but I'll take it on the chin. I've learned a painful lesson for one moment of naivety.”
