Monday 12 January 2015 17:05, UK
Rupert Cox shares his highlights from the week's rugby action in his round-up blog...
There is a legal principle known as double jeopardy, which roughly means that you can't be tried for the same crime twice. In the USA it's enshrined in the Constitution, in the UK it's enforced by statute. Bear it in mind when Stuart Lancaster announces his England squad this week.
Danny Cipriani has an unfortunate history of misdemeanors when it comes to his behaviour in and around rugby teams. Whether it be being photographed walking out of a night club at midnight the night before a Six Nations game, dropping an F-bomb in a post Test match interview, or taking a bottle of vodka from a Melbourne bar without paying – the man they call ‘Sippers’ has often been a magnet for the wrong kind of headline.
No laws broken, but no hearts won, either. But however tarnished his reputation, Cipriani remains one of the – if not the – best No 10s in England. His performances for the Sale Sharks this season, not to mention for England in the summer, more than warrant selection in the England senior squad.
He might not always be the best choice to start a Test match, but he has the rare ability to come off the bench and change the course of a game – handy at a World Cup, one would think. But if nothing has changed in the minds of Stuart Lancaster and co – Danny is still fourth in the pecking order, and will be announced this week as a member of the Saxons squad to play alongside Henry Slade and Sam Burgess against the Ireland Wolfhounds – thereby ruling him out of the Six Nations.
Surely the England bosses have a pretty good handle on Danny’s strengths and weaknesses by now? What is a game in Cork going to tell them that they don’t already know?
The All Blacks have pioneered what can be politely called the ‘No Idiots’ rule. They call it something a bit more honest albeit a little cruder too, but to save our sub-editors blushes, let’s stick with ‘Idiots’…
Allow me to explain – if you’re a bit of a 'idiot head’, then you’re not going to get selected no matter how good you are, because it’s bad for team harmony and public relations. And because nobody likes you. Modern pro rugby players spend a huge amount of time together and if they don’t get on, it will ultimately affect results – and revenue.
If England cricket had enforced this rule, then Kevin Pietersen might never have played a single Test match. Now I’m not calling Danny Cipriani anything – but it seems a decision has been made at England Rugby HQ that DC will only wear the Red Rose if all other options have been completely exhausted. Let’s face it; he only made the plane to New Zealand in the summer because of the scheduling disaster that meant Owen Farrell and Stephen Myler were unavailable for the first Test.
England Rugby are so terrified of another World Cup PR disaster that they seem prepared to prioritise good press over quality talent. There’s a paragraph on Nick Easter that pretty much writes itself here – just take a look at today's papers!
It’s pretty clear that Danny Cipriani is still being punished for his off-field press and this, I respectfully submit, is not right. If, as expected, he is ‘rewarded’ with an England second team place this Wednesday then my advice to Dan is this: sign that whopping deal in the Top 14 and look forward to life on the Riviera.
After a wretched start to the season, Edinburgh are back in the race for a Champions Cup qualification place after ending Connacht’s unbeaten season in Galway. It was the Scots' fourth win in their last six games in the domestic league, and they have moved up to seventh place on the Guinness PRO12 Table. There’s been talk questioning Alan Solomons' approach since his arrival at Murrayfield in the summer, but it seems the South African’s method is now making headway.
Defending champions Leinster are back on track after a fifth win in seven games. They picked up maximum points in beating a 14-man Blues side 22-13 at the Arms Park – the Dubliners score four unconverted tries. This game will be remembered not only for Jarrad Hoeata’s high tackle on Rob Kearney (that earned the Blues second row a red card), but also for some outstanding running rugby created in the most part by the two opposing Kiwi 10s – Gareth Anscombe and Jimmy Gopperth. Can’t imagine such a quality game in front of such a big crowd on such a wet and blustery day if the plastic 4G pitch wasn’t in place. Yay, astroturf!
Munster, Glasgow and the Ospreys also returned to winning ways after losses last time out, to give the top four a predictable look about it just after the halfway stage.
Sergio Parisse’s performance against Castres for Stade Français on Friday night was ridiculously good. He picked up a hat-trick of tries, but would have had four were it not for the referee prematurely awarding a penalty try to Stade as they thundered towards the try line. Sergio plays like a fly-half that packs down in the back of the scrum – almost like an NFL quarterback who starts each offensive play right on the line of scrimmage. We will never see the best of the Italian at Test level, but in club rugby there is not a better No 8.
Stade’s thrashing of Castres temporarily put them back on top spot, but they were hauled in by Clermont after Les Jaunards put six tries past Brive in the Massif Central derby. Jonathan Davies got a rare home start for Clermont but it probably won’t be enough to dislodge the Rougerie/Fofana combo in midfield for their crucial Champions Cup game against the Sale Sharks this Saturday.
Toulon were back on form with an entertaining win over top-four rivals Racing Metro at the Felix Mayol. Juan Martin Hernandez started at 10 with Matt Giteau outside, and the Argentine looks like getting back to his 2007 World Cup best just in time for the big event later this year. Bordeaux-Begles jumped ahead of Grenoble into fifth spot with another strong home win. That’s back-to-back rounds in the Top 14 without an away win. Go figure!
Montpellier’s new ‘consultant’ head coach Jake White. Not the most gracious way to prepare for your second game in charge of a Top 14 club, by describing Oyonnax thus: “If we want to play Montauban on a field with five people watching and a dog, then we’re not interested." Two clubs and both leagues safely insulted. For the record – Oyannax sent Jake’s boys packing with a 20-13 win. Jake – take some advice from Ernest Hemingway – “grace under pressure”.
Nous Sommes Tous Charlie. Sport hardly seems relevant in the shadow of what happened in Paris last week, but it was moving to see all players and clubs showing great solidarity during one of the most challenging episodes in France’s history. The silences held ahead of every Top 14 game were as they should be – you could have heard a pin drop.
