Why are we still comparing Wilkinson and Cipriani?
Wed, Jul 15, 2009, Posted by Vic Drover 
The American 24-hour news cycle has changed news production in glaring ways. Perhaps the most obvious is the manufactured hype between two sides of an impending news story such as when President Obama and former Vice-President Cheney were scheduled to give back-to-back interviews. This ‘event’ was being billed as the next big boxing match, with both sides out for blood.
This is the same model that checkout aisle pulp rags and ‘dueling’ rap stars use to sell more copies: invent a conflict where none exists to catch peoples interest. As usual however, the hype is typically a lot more interesting than the actual event which is inevitably disappointing and/or mundane.
International rugby news coverage, obscure as it is, tends to be insulated from these types of tactics with one exception: the perceived angst between former England fly halfs Jonny Wilkinson and Danny Cipriani.
Wilkinson, the architect of England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup Championship, has struggled on fitness and form since his famous drop-goal in Sydney and in 2008 was replaced by young upstart Cirpiani in the 2008 Six Nations Championship. In that debut match against Ireland, Cipriani excelled and was immediately heralded as the new savior of English Rugby.
Just a few months later, Cipriani severely dislocated his ankle and has struggled to return to international form. Instead of traveling to South Africa for the 2009 Lions Tour, Cipriani was dropped to the England second XV (the Saxons) and has not been named in the 32-man elite player squad that will represent England in the forthcoming season.
Wilkinson however appears to be ready for action after another injury/recovery. He has signed a new contract with French club Toulon and is only one of two dedicated fly-halfs on the English elite squad.
Wilkinson has 70 caps for England and 158 appearances for Newcastle, with almost 3000 points to his credit. Cipriani has 40 appearances between the England squad and Wasps, and less than 300 combined points. With almost zero interest from national selectors this year, why is the rugby media obsessed with discussing Cipriani every time Wilkinson makes the news?
In every article, they talk about Wilkinson, then report the ‘non-news’ that “Oh, by the way, Cipriani wasn’t selected”. Then there’s the required photo of Cipriani giving Wilkinson some ‘advice’ during the 2008 Six Nations (above), as if Wilkinson is somehow pissed that he has to listen to Cipriani.
Can we drop the bullshit here folks. Cipriani may well return to form and represent England, but not anytime soon. Nothing to see here folks. Come back when he does something.
Wilkinson in contrast has returned from his most recent injury, and we’ll see how he holds up with Toulon having not played for 10 months. If he stays fit, you’ll likely see him in the number 10 shirt for England’s next match. After all, England’s coach Martin Johnson was Wilkinson’s teammate and captain when they won the 2003 RWC. Perhaps that had something to do with Wilkinson’s selection to the elite squad. Let’s see some real investigative journalism on that front.
Tags: England, Rugby World Cup, Six Nations
Either one of these guys is an improvement over Andy Gooode though.
Cipriani got hyped up because he played extremely well for the
Wasps. Excelling in club rugby is no indicator of success in test
rugby as we’ve seen before. While Ronan O’Gara has had an excellent
career with Ireland, he’s never really played the way he does when
he puts on the red shirt of Munster. Martin Johnson holds grudges
and he clearly has one with Cipriani. I don’t see Wilco’s fitness,
or body for that matter, holding up to stay in test rugby. Cipriani
will eventually be the #10, but he’ll never be Wilkinson. Wilkinson
was a special player that you don’t see very often.
Ya, Wilco was a rare bird to be sure. If he can last 12 or 24 months, maybe even go the NEW in 2011, he will likely get knighted!
5000 fans showed up for his first training session with Toulon.
Wilkinson will always be a God in rugby and I hope that he can stay
injury free long enough to make an impact! I agree with everyone
else, Cipriani is good, but he is not Wilkinson…and he will be
the #10 someday!
I don't know about Cips returning to the fold. I still like Andy Goode.
Yes, everyone knows your man-crush on Andy Goode, but he’s no
#10.
I have a rugby blog called "http://5metrescrum.com/">http://5metrescrum.com and i was
wondering if you want to swap links with my site
thank you
It’s the same the whole world over……… Bored with the same old
arguments on my beloved Wasps’ unofficial message board,
I wandered over the pond to visit your excellent site, I
haven’t had a look for a while and thought I’d find some fresh and
possibly insightful threads. What do I find? The Wilkinson/Cipriani
debate! I know Vic, you tried to disguise it by posing the question
“why are we having the debate” but you end up having the debate
anyway. What the hell I may as well join in! JW and DC are two of
the most gifted fly halves I have ever had the privilege to see
live. Both have been knocked by injury, Jonny (fortunately for him)
after he’d made his reputation, and Danny (equally unfortunately)
just as he was starting to make his. More importantly however, both
have the capacity to make gnarled old forwards like me wonder
how the hell they just did what they just did. Why are we having
the debate? Because when two or more sports fans are gathered
together we discuss who’s the greatest, whatever sport you pick
“it’s the law”. These two are scrapping for one of the most
prestigious prizes in our game, the England 10 shirt, they are
undoubted superstars and it’s our duty to argue over who’s the
best. Danny Cipriani, no question! Unfortunately while the existing
England management stays in place I fear that you will only ever
see one of them in an England 10 shirt. Martin Johnson is stuck in
2003, no doubt an attractive place to be for a World Cup winning
captain but not a great starting point for building a team to win
it again in 2011. But that’s another thread I came here to
avoid……. Oh, by the way, two more things; 1) there are no other
fly halves in England at the moment 2) Andy Goode!!!! do me a
favour
Excellent article. How come you haven’t updated the blog for a
while? Please drop me an email as there is something I would like
to run by you. Thanks a lot, Thomas
and it continues….
Can’t mention Cips without Wilco.