Time for Danny to be let off the leash

Cipriani will be brought straight back into the England team to take on Ireland following his very public fall from grace ahead of last Saturday's 15-9 defeat by Scotland.

With England misfiring so badly at Murrayfield and now in danger of missing out on third place in the Six Nations, head coach Ashton has no option but to give youth a chance against the equally disappointing Irish when they clash at Twickenham in the final fixture.

Rob Smith, the head of the Wasps Academy and a former first-team coach at the club, has overseen Cipriani's development since he was spotted as a special talent helping Whitgift School win the Daily Mail Under-15 Cup. He was a year younger than the rest of the team, yet stood out as the best player on the pitch.

Now, with Cipriani's reputation damaged by his ill-advised visit to that Mayfair club to drop off tickets to a friend, the 20-year-old's every move will be closely watched - on and off the pitch.

Smith claims there is nothing to worry about in terms of Cipriani's commitment to rugby. He said: "I do not believe anything in his life will be allowed to get in the way of his quest to be the No1 player in his position. He is a very professional 20-year-old who is doing whatever it takes in terms of work ethic to develop into the best outside-half in the world.

"He is going to a have a massive future in the game and you need to just get him out there on the pitch at the very highest level and let him see if he can produce the goods. He has a huge range of talents to bring to the England team.

"His decision making is sound and Danny is prepared to listen. My advice to England, having worked with him since the age of 14, is to give him a loose rein and only bring him back in every now and then. You have to allow him space to work in and I am sure Brian Ashton recognises this fact."

Smith has seen the youngster mature rapidly over the past two years while making a name for himself with Wasps.

"Danny has already won the Heineken Cup," Smith said. "He handled that pressure very well and is incredibly mentally tough. He becomes very single-minded when given a target to hit. It is very rare to find a player with that bit of genius or what some people call the X factor.

"Danny has stood out as a special player from a very early age." Wasps are still backing Cipriani despite Ashton's insistence that dropping the player was the right action.

"He's apologised, although I don't think he has a lot to apologise for because in my book he hasn't behaved badly," said Ian McGeechan, the Wasps director of rugby. "He's learned his lesson and, mentally, I think we've got a very strong player there. I'm sure we'll see the benefit and I hope England will see the benefit as well."

England and Ireland may be struggling for form but Saturday's clash has become the target of forgeries after black market prices reached £2,800 for a pair of tickets. One buyer of six fakes has lost around £2,000 after noticing that two of the tickets showed the same seat number.

Paul Vaughan, the Rugby Football Union business and operations director, said: "I would like to warn anyone who is thinking of or has bought match tickets from unofficial sources.

"Single tickets are exchanging hands for £1,400 each and therefore black market customers could be seriously financially out of pocket if our security measures prevent their entry to the ground.

"If tickets have been purchased from unofficial sources, I strongly advise those people not to turn up and if fans are thinking of buying from the black market I would say very simply, don't."