The reason Cipriani is a perfect fit for Gloucester lies in Johan Ackermann's past
Following his recall to the England team last week, Danny Cipriani has joined Gloucester, with the club announcing his signing earlier today.
Cipriani’s future has been one of the longest-running transfer sagas of the season, after Wasps confirmed the arrival of Lima Sopoaga for the next campaign and announced, back midway through the season, that Cipriani would be leaving in the summer.
The 30-year-old fly-half, who came through the London Wasps academy back when the club was based in High Wycombe, has had spells at the Melbourne Rebels and Sale Sharks sandwiched between two stints at his boyhood club and it had looked a few weeks ago as if a move to France or Japan beckoned.
His recall to the England team for the tour of South Africa has clearly changed Cipriani’s plans, however, with the dangling carrot of a spot in England’s Rugby World Cup squad next year too appetising for the playmaker to turn down.
He will compete with George Ford and Owen Farrell this summer to add to the 14 England caps he currently has to his name, before he joins up with Johan Ackermann and David Humphreys at Kingsholm in preparation for the 2018/19 season.
On the surface, it looks as if it’s a remarkably good deal for club and player alike.
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With Gloucester beginning to resurge under Ackermann’s tutelage, it is exactly the kind of club Cipriani needs to be at to showcase his abilities ahead of the RWC. The Cherry and Whites will be back in the Champions Cup next season after a five-year absence from the competition and this will pit Cipriani against the best in Europe.
Gloucester also made the Challenge Cup final in Ackermann’s debut season as head coach and took the scalps of Saracens and Exeter Chiefs in an Aviva Premiership season that was encouraging, at the least. On paper, they look to be a team that will be challenging in the top half of the competition next season and that’s a good fit for Cipriani.
As for Gloucester, they get a top-tier fly-half who has been instrumental to the high-octane and relentless rugby that Wasps have played in recent seasons. If they are keen to improve on their 7th place finish this season and make waves in the Champions Cup, then Cipriani is the kind of first receiver that can run a similarly ambitious and expansive side, not to mention create moments of individual magic that can swing games.
Perhaps the key point in this move is the similarity of Cipriani, as a player, to South African fly-half Elton Jantjies.
Jantjies was an integral part of the rebuilding job that Ackermann did with the Lions down in Johannesburg and the pair turned around the franchise from perennial Super Rugby strugglers and underachievers, to the undisputed top team in South Africa.
Although neither Ackermann nor Jantjies were able to lift the Super Rugby trophy, they did make the last two finals and came particularly close to denying the Crusaders last season, in a tournament that has become extremely Kiwi-dominated.
As a playmaker on the gain-line, an exploiter of space and a dangerous runner with ball-in-hand, Jantjies helped spearhead that Lions revolution and the similarities in playing style to Cipriani are obvious.
If Ackermann is keen to develop and evolve Gloucester into something resembling that Lions side, there is arguably no better 10 in English rugby to put behind the wheel than Cipriani.
People will point to the pressure valve Jantjies had outside of him in Rohan Janse van Rensburg and claim there’s not a like-for-like centre in that mould currently at Kingsholm, but van Rensburg, if the rumours are to be believed, could well be joining Cipriani in the south-west.
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Just stop for a moment to think of the damage Cipriani could do on second phase, following a powerful van Rensburg carry and quick recycling of the ball. It’s a lot of ifs, buts and projections at the moment, but it is an appetising combination for Gloucester fans to ponder on.
You feel somewhat for Billy Burns in this situation who, stylistically, isn’t too different from Jantjies or Cipriani, and has shown he is capable of orchestrating the Cherry and Whites’ back line this season, but top clubs need competition and depth, especially at a key position like fly-half.
Welcome @DannyCipriani87 #AnnounceCipriani 👀 pic.twitter.com/IjvBrgFuuU
— Gloucester Rugby 🍒 (@gloucesterrugby) May 14, 2018
Competing in the Champions Cup, rather than the Challenge Cup, will require Gloucester to rotate more in the Premiership if they are to look after their squad properly and there will still be opportunities for Burns. Don’t rule out playing time at 15, either, should Jason Woodward be injured, involved with England or deployed on the wing.
Having waited late to make the decision and clearly been influenced by the England recall, it’s easy to grasp and assume this move is a short-term one for Cipriani, to give him one last hurrah in the Premiership and a shot at the RWC, but it can be much more than that.
With maturity, a refined game and an end goal he’s passionate about and driven to achieve, Cipriani could be the style-specific spark plug and lieutenant that Ackermann needs to turn Gloucester into a genuine title challenger.
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to comments