Cipriani

[The_Brown_Hornet]

And quite likely when he did go on with a skinful he would either make 100 or take 5 for. He seemed to be performance unaffected, unlike the rest of us mere mortals.

The key thing about Miller was that he was good to go every time he fronted up to play. He might have played with a hangover from time to time, but I doubt he disrespected his team mates by not showing up.

 

[Epi]

The key thing about Miller was that he was good to go every time he fronted up to play. He might have played with a hangover from time to time, but I doubt he disrespected his team mates by not showing up.

Agreed - that was out of order. I fear Danny's days are numbered...

Crying shame to see talent like that squandered...

 

[Skippy]

I'm a bit torn over this one. On one hand I think the bloke needs help and must have some underlying issues... perhaps he's lacked a father figure in his life and so on. So perhaps the Rebels should help him with some counselling and try and stand by him. But then on the other hand, if he's already off to Europe then the Rebels should cut him loose if he's not committed to them.
But on the other hand, I don't feel for the bloke one bit. He's got talent and is being paid large amounts of money to play rugby for a living. Me and just about every other bloke on here would give our right testicle to be in his position... and I'm not talking about Kelly Brook or Miss Universe when I say that!.
Clearly there are massive issues. I recall (and I hope I'm correct) he was dropped by England the night before his 1st test as he went out to a nightclub at midnight, broke curfew and was in the papers. He claimed he was dropping off tickets to his mates but irrespective of that, he broke curfew... the night before his debut when you and I would be tucked up in bed at 8pm doing everything we could to ensure we go out the next day and perform on debut. So Johnson dropped him.
Then when he got cut completely my sources tell me if was when they were in a training camp in Portugal and he got on the lash one night and refused point blank to do a bleep test the next morning. Johnson said pack you bags and that was the end of that.
Like a lot of talented people they are exceptionally good at somethings, but lacking in other areas of life. Sadly, Cipriani is heading down the well trodden path of players who never reached their potential. In both life and rugby.

 

[WB3]

I'm a bit torn over this one. On one hand I think the bloke needs help and must have some underlying issues... perhaps he's lacked a father figure in his life and so on. So perhaps the Rebels should help him with some counselling and try and stand by him. But then on the other hand, if he's already off to Europe then the Rebels should cut him loose if he's not committed to them.
But on the other hand, I don't feel for the bloke one bit. He's got talent and is being paid large amounts of money to play rugby for a living. Me and just about every other bloke on here would give our right testicle to be in his position... and I'm not talking about Kelly Brook or Miss Universe when I say that!.
Clearly there are massive issues. I recall (and I hope I'm correct) he was dropped by England the night before his 1st test as he went out to a nightclub at midnight, broke curfew and was in the papers. He claimed he was dropping off tickets to his mates but irrespective of that, he broke curfew... the night before his debut when you and I would be tucked up in bed at 8pm doing everything we could to ensure we go out the next day and perform on debut. So Johnson dropped him.
Then when he got cut completely my sources tell me if was when they were in a training camp in Portugal and he got on the lash one night and refused point blank to do a bleep test the next morning. Johnson said pack you bags and that was the end of that.
Like a lot of talented people they are exceptionally good at somethings, but lacking in other areas of life. Sadly, Cipriani is heading down the well trodden path of players who never reached their potential. In both life and rugby.

You have three hands?!!

Otherwise agreed completely. Good article in the herald this morning about him as well. Seems to capture my feelings about him - flawed talent who will probably never make the most of it.

 

[fatprop]

Oh boy, Danny
May 11, 2011

Rod Macqueen is not the first coach to have been left exasperated by the flawed superstar that is Danny Cipriani, writes Mick Cleary.

What to do with a boy like Danny? He had the talent, he had the girlfriend, he had the profile - yet he didn't have a true sense of himself. The Melbourne Rebels have a view on him, having left Danny Cipriani out of their 26-man squad for the two-match Super 15 trip to South Africa with this stinging rebuke: ''The playing group and management have lost confidence in Danny after the latest in a series of off-field breaches,'' Rebels chief executive Ross Oakley said. ''Danny chose to stay out late again after the incident in Sydney and did not attend training the following day.''

For one whose vision fired his imagination on the field of play, it was the one quality he lacked away from the game, never showing the slightest sign that he could see himself as others perceived him. Self-confidence is all very well; self-awareness is a far more precious character trait.

This time, there is to be no get-out sympathy clause for Cipriani, no George Best mitigatory joke. Back in the 1970s, a hotel night porter famously asked the footballing genius where it had all gone wrong as he lay on his bed surrounded by cash, champagne and girls. But Best had conquered the sporting world before the devil raised its horns within.
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Cipriani has not even left the foothills. A mere seven caps is all he has to his name and a celebrity quite at odds with his achievements.

Martin Johnson was wrongly portrayed as a middle-England grump when he cracked down on Cipriani. Johnson, the England manager, is no miserabilist, a man incapable of cutting young players slack. No matter what his glowering persona might suggest, Johnson likes a bit of mischief in his players. He admires edge, a dissident streak, rebelliousness even. Ben Foden has a pop star girlfriend, and recently had a late-night taxi kerfuffle, yet is a valued member of the squad.

Johnson spent more time behind the scenes trying to get Cipriani in line than he did with any other player. In the end, as has happened in Australia, it was Cipriani's team-mates who had had enough. Johnson captained a World Cup-winning side, Rebels coach Rod Macqueen led the Wallabies to World Cup success in 1999. Both men are wise as well as forgiving.

Rugby teams are not made up of angels. They recognise that. Players will occasionally be pillocks. When the patience of Johnson and Macqueen runs out, you know it must be serious.

Ego is all very well if it fuels performance, all very ruinous if it leads to arrogance and separateness. All coaches abide by one fundamental principle: the team is the thing. As a sharp point of reference this week, Cipriani's teammate and five-eighth rival at the Rebels, James Hilgendorf, limped in unexpectedly to training carrying rather than using the crutches intended for an ankle injury.

Cipriani spoke recently of his need to escape the negativity that surrounded him in England. That negativity was self-generated, not a distortion of the media. Yet still he seems to be in denial. If there have been two incidents made public and suspensions imposed, you can well imagine there have been many other things kept in-house.

It's right that some sort of proportion is kept in these matters. Cipriani is far from being a bad lad, just too wrapped up in himself, too wayward. He showed such promise as a teenager but even those gifts are now under duress. His defence has never been Wilkinsonesque (whose is?) but even his attacking game is fitful. You sense that, for all his bravura and ease before the flashbulbs, there might be an insecurity underneath. Better to get into trouble than front up to inner anxieties.

Cipriani was not the first to leave Britain in search of self-correction. Many before him had little choice in the matter. He did. Cipriani's exile was supposed to flush away the blues, rekindle desires and restore a sense of fun to his sporting life. What a great pity that it hasn't worked out that way.

Telegraph, London

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/oh-boy-danny-20110510-1eheo.html#ixzz1LzLmb2OY

 

[Bruce Ross]

Compare Mick Cleary's article borrowed from the London Telegraph to what we have become accustomed to from the SMH's local stable of senior rugby journalists. Chalk and cheese.

 

[Nusadan]

Surprise, surprise...

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/s...uper-rugby-stint/story-e6frf4qu-1226059247629

Shame he can't knuckle down and all that for his own good...

 

[daz]

After his 6N debut, I once thought Cips had the potential to be one of the truly great 10's in world rugby, and even though he is a Pom, I was never-the-less excited to see just what he could do over his career. I love watching great players playing great, regardless of nationality.

Now, while I still have that feeling of his potential, I now also think he is closer to becoming a coulda-been.

Regrets? I think the man may end up having a few.....

 

[cyclopath]

After his 6N debut, I once thought Cips had the potential to be one of the truly great 10's in world rugby, and even though he is a Pom, I was never-the-less excited to see just what he could do over his career. I love watching great players playing great, regardless of nationality.

Now, while I still have that feeling of his potential, I now also think he is closer to becoming a coulda-been.

Regrets? I think the man may end up having a few.....

He needs to have them now. I don't pretend to know him, or his mind, but he seems incapable of accepting much responsibility for his actions - i.e. very child like in a way. To have as much talent as he does, not to mention opportunity to make a very nice career for himself, and not see that realised, will be a terrible squandering.

 

[Nusadan]

All he needs is a strong hand from a woman he loves...(or can put up with him), and Bob's your uncle!

 

[I like to watch]

Can she tackle?

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Apparently his Ex is Kelly Brook. I'd post some photos, but Scarfy and Gaggs would probably ban me for it. Let me just say, fnarrrr.

 

[Epi]

He's been seen around here with Miss Universe Australia...

For fucks sake - what more does the man need to be happy!?

 

[qwerty51]

He must be packing.

 

[Bruce Ross]

He's been seen around here with Miss Universe Australia...
For fucks sake - what more does the man need to be happy!?

Seriously, would you kick her out of bed just so that you could get to training the day after yet another flogging? I think the young bloke is way more rational than people give him credit for.

So what if he can't tackle to save his life? It doesn't seem to be bothering her.

 

[Brumby Jack]

It doesn't seem to be bothering her.

Neither is his tackle.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

The thing is though Bruce, in order to keep on snagging totty like that, you have be either filthy rich, amazingly good looking or notable for something. If young Danny doesn't get back out on the paddock, these fine young fillies will forget who he is

 

[Bruce Ross]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to take your word for it, TBH. I grew up in Wollongong in the pre-pill era.

 

[saulih]

Shifting from a life of irresponsibility to responsibility can happen overnight. I worked with young adults, and watched it numerous times when a guy was living it up in Uni in November, and by January with a job to get up for had straightened up. Same can happen with marriage, or with a major disciplining event. People can make the choice to act differently - when THEY feel they need to. Maybe getting canned for three weeks by your peers will do it, maybe not. It is a question of a persons character. Let's hope he shows that he has some, because he will become a far better rugby player for it.

 

[Bruce Ross]

The thing is though Bruce, in order to keep on snagging totty like that, you have be either filthy rich, amazingly good looking or notable for something. If young Danny doesn't get back out on the paddock, these fine young fillies will forget who he is

You do make a serious point, TBH, although you omit a fourth means of attraction, i.e., being "notable" as distinct from being "notable for something"; what is sometimes referred to as being famous for being famous (FFBF). I would think that is where our lad is at.

Undoubtedly he would have started attracting attention by being a pretty boy playing professional rugby but his big break into the world of FFBF came in 2007 when he was photographed with Monica Irimia, one of Romanian twins who performed as The Cheeky Girls. Their debut single, "Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)" sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide and was voted the worst pop record of all time in a Channel 4 poll in 2004. At that stage Danny was 19 and playing for Wasps.

After making his Test debut in 2008 Danny "began dating model and occasional TV presenter Kelly Brook".Their 22-month relationship ended in June 2010. Soon after he came to Melbourne.

FFBF people seek one another out to augment and reinforce their fame. "Cheeky Girl", "model and occasional TV presenter", "Miss Universe Australia". There is a thread here. I can't see Danny adding to his FFBF status by going back and becoming a clean living, hard training member of the Rebels' offensive line up [their defensive squad is seriously undermanned]. But he did pick up quite a few FFBF points by being stood down by the Rebels for all night tom-catting.

It would be great if he could achieve his rugby potential, although I can't see his 6 international caps being added to while ever the no-nonsense Martin Johnson is England manager. More likely he will move from Melbourne back to a club in Europe more tolerant of his off-field festivities and play out his career as a journeyman point scorer. Gradually the paparazzi will fall off as they find they can no longer sell pictures of him posing with some stunning bird.

In all probability a waste of quite prodigious talent.