Danny Cipriani (Italian pronunciation: [tʃiˈprjaːni] (; born 2 November 1987) is an English former professional rugby union player. He most recently played for Premiership Rugby side Bath and previously played for Gloucester, Sale Sharks and Wasps in the Premiership and Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby. He plays fly-half and fullback. He has also played for England. Since starting in the Wasps academy in 2003, Cipriani has been capped for England 16 times.
Cipriani went first to Donhead Preparatory School in Wimbledon, London. Spotted as a rugby talent at Donhead, he was offered a full scholarship and was then advised to move to the Junior House of The Oratory School near Reading in order for him to continue his development. He later moved to Whitgift School in Croydon after Common Entrance.
A keen all-round sportsman, Cipriani played junior football for Queens Park Rangers and was offered youth terms by Reading. He also played schoolboy cricket for Berkshire and Oxfordshire. He was invited to join Surrey County Cricket Club as a batsman. He also played squash at county level. He first played club rugby at Rosslyn Park in Roehampton, where he developed his passion for the game. A former coach, Tony Durrant, described him as "precocious". Cipriani himself has given credit to the youth level coaches that encouraged his flamboyant playstyle. He also acknowledges local hero Bobby Walsh for taking a special interest in his development at the club.
Cipriani joined Wasps Academy in 2003, and made his debut against Bristol aged 17 in December 2004 in the Powergen Cup. Cipriani joined the Wasps Academy full-time in the 2006–07 season. He initially played for Wasps under-21 team and Wasps A team before making more regular appearances for the first team in 2007. He started as Wasps won the 2007 Heineken Cup Final.
After Alex King left Wasps in the summer of 2007, the fly-half position at the club became vacant, and, after playing in a series of positions for Wasps in the early games of the 2007–08 season Cipriani played two games in an at fly-half, against Gloucester and Munster, Wasps winning both.
He is quicker over 69 metres than Paul Sackey and this story was confirmed by their sprinting coach.
On 6 October 2008, Cipriani was involved in a bust-up with club and international teammate Josh Lewsey in a training ground fight.
Cipriani was left nursing a bloody nose and cut lip following the incident at Wasps' training ground. The spat started after Lewsey accused Cipriani of missing several tackles during a full-contact session.
On 18 May 2008, Cipriani suffered a fracture dislocation of his right ankle during Wasps semi-final play-off victory over Bath. Cipriani was tackled by Olly Barkley and got trapped at the bottom of a ruck in the 49th minute at Adams Park. He was ruled out of England's tour of New Zealand due to his ankle fracture. The injury also ruled him out of Wasps' victory in the 2007–08 Premiership final.
Cipriani made his return to Wasps in a Premiership match against Bath on 1 October 2008. His recovery was described as remarkable, given the severity of the injury, and his return was six weeks to two months ahead of schedule. His sprint coach Margot Wells has been quoted as saying that due to Cipriani's superb attitude and hard work, he will return 'stronger in the tackle, fitter and faster than before'.
Following an injury to Jonny Wilkinson, Cipriani regained the England number 10 shirt for the 2008 Autumn Internationals. He was then dropped following two poor displays in defeat to South Africa and Australia. Much was also made of his high-profile relationship with model Kelly Brook and concerns were raised by critics about whether he was fully committed to rugby.
Cipriani enjoyed a good start to the 2009–10 season with Wasps, only to injure himself in a match against Northampton Saints, a match in which he incidentally scored his first try of the season. This injury ruled him out of the Autumn Internationals for England. It would be two months before he made his comeback playing in a Wasps A game against Harlequins, 7 December, playing for 40 minutes.
Cipriani played his last home match for London Wasps on 1 May 2010 against Cardiff Blues in the Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final.
In February 2010, Wasps announced Cipriani would join the Melbourne Rebels. Rebels' Coach Rod Macqueen said, "Danny Cipriani is ... coming for all the right reasons. [He] is on the right path to the culture we are after." In England, there was speculation about Cipriani's chances of English selection for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. While England's manager Martin Johnson said he would not select Cipriani if he moved to the southern hemisphere, former English international Austin Healey said he believed Cipriani could still feature for England at the tournament in New Zealand.
In August 2010 Neil Warnock, manager of the London-based football club Queens Park Rangers, revealed Cipriani would train with the Rangers and might even play for the reserves in preparation for his move to Melbourne. Cipriani also trained with London football club Tottenham Hotspur. In September 2010, Cipriani went to Denver to train with the Colorado Rapids, which he said was for "altitude training". During September 2010 Cipriani trained with the Milton Keynes Dons and was reportedly offered the chance to sign with them if he did not enjoy his first season in Melbourne.
Despite issues with his Australian work visa, Cipriani joined the Rebels for pre-season training in late 2010. He trained at fly-half, and in early 2011 was one of two captains to lead the Rebels in two friendly trials against the visiting Tongans.
Cipriani is the first England international player to join an Australian rugby club that is playing in Super Rugby. As of 23 November 2011, he has played 12 matches for the Melbourne Rebels and scored 108 points. His ill-discipline off the field has cost him the chance to play more.
In the Rebels second ever game in the Super Rugby competition against the Brumbies, Cipriani scored the Rebels's first points from a penalty kick. He then went on to score another 17 points in the game and help the Rebels to their first ever win.