Boks brace themselves for the 'naughty one'
JUNE SPOTLIGHT: Bok coach Rassie Erasmus believes his team’s defence will be seriously tested with Danny Cipriani in the England No.10 jersey for the third Test at Newlands in Cape Town.
Cipriani will make his first Test start for England in 10 years after he was picked ahead of regular flyhalf George Ford for Saturday’s Test. Ford drops out of the matchday 23.
Cipriani has impressed many with his performances in recent seasons for Wasps and Sale Sharks and he has come a long way since his controversial off-field antics in the past.
“Willie [Le Roux], who played with him at the same club [Wasps], will tell you he learned so much from Cipriani just in the way of attack and running lines and picking the right options, so I think we will be tested again.
“It depends on what the weather is like. Maybe the weather doesn’t allow you to play that way, but he is a wonderful player, even during his stint at the Rebels.
“He has always been a little bit of a naughty one, but he tends to bring some wonderful rugby and we will have to manage that on defence where we weren’t great at stages during the first two Test matches.
“He will definitely test us, especially with [Owen] Farrell on his outside, so I think it is going to be tougher for us there.”
Cipriani’s previous start for England was against the Springboks in Cape Town in 2008.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
“We’re up for the battle on Saturday.” 👊
Eddie Jones on @DannyCipriani87, @owen_faz, and preparation for the third Test against the @Springboks: https://t.co/QUAYXNCYgq #WearTheRose 🌹 pic.twitter.com/n07TL7ifSl
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 21, 2018
