Guiness Premiership / Ralph Ellis / 04 September 2009 / Leave a comment

Danny Cipriani has long been hailed as the future of English rugby. Ralph Ellis wonders if this might be the season when the Wasps no.10 starts to fulfill his promise....

"Cipriani going to be better than when he was on fire two seasons ago. He’s got the potential to be one of England’s best ever number tens – he just has to believe it again.”

Injuries can have different effects on sportsmen. Sometimes they ruin a career. Sometimes, perversely, they can be the catalyst that turns wayward promise and potential into fantastic fulfilment.

For those of us who only dream of playing games at the top level, it's always hard to understand why the ones blessed with talent don't seem to take it all so seriously. The reason is that they simply don't understand what they've got. They've grown up with it, so they take it for granted. There's the famous story about Matt Le Tissier picking out somebody with an outrageous 60-yard pass, only to be asked by a frustrated team mate in a better position: "Can't you ever just play the easy ball?" Le Tiss looked at him puzzled and replied: "But that was easy."

Danny Cipriani has been very Le Tiss like so far in his career. Catapulted into stardom while still in his teens, and then named as the future of England rugby, he had the lot complete with celebrity girlfriend and lifestyle. So talented that he didn't need to work at his sport, he chose that option and, well, didn't work at his sport. And as a result a lot of the promise remained exactly that.

Then came the injury in May last year, when he was trapped at the bottom of a scrum and his ankle horrible twisted, which looked as if it could finish his career. And for all that he returned from that in the Autumn, and even played a couple of internationals, it was pretty clear that he still wasn't fully fit. His season dribbled on, and the debates about his preference for enjoying the good life against training wouldn't go away.

But now he's had a full summer, a proper pre-season, and this could be the time for the boy who is potentially one of England's best ever to turn into a man. The first look at him will come tomorrow when Wasps will be the supporting cast while everybody turns their eyes on Harlequins - post Bloodgate - in the first match of the Guinness Premiership season.

If Cipriani can hit the heights then Wasps, currently among the long shots at a price of [10], would be serious candidates to win the Premiership. And here's a clue buried in a long article in this morning's Daily Mail in which Matt Dawson, Dick Best and Paul Sackey discuss the forthcoming season.

Asked about Cipriani, his Wasps and England team mate Sackey reveals: "I've been working closely with him all summer. We have done a lot of rehab together and he looks really sharp. I think he's going to be better than when he was on fire two seasons ago. He's got the potential to be one of England's best ever number tens - he just has to believe it again."

If he's right then Wasps will be one of the teams best able to threaten [3.3] favourites Leicester, especially once Sackey is also fit again. A year after the retirement of Lawrence Dallaglio that so disrupted the club they are far more settled and the arrival of Tom Varndell is a plus. They are certainly well worth backing at around [2] to open the season with a win at home tomorrow.

Five things you might not know about Paul Sackey

1. Born November 1979 in London, he had never played rugby before he went to The John Fisher School in Purley shortly before his 17th birthday to do A levels

2. Before that he had trials with Crystal Palace as a promising midfielder, and was also a county standard hurdler

3. He does sprinting lessons with Margo Wells, wife of former 100m Olympic gold medallist Allan

4. Three years ago he set up a business that sources and sells top of the range used cars for VIP clients. Best deal so far was a £330,000 Rolls Royce Phantom. His own car is a Ferrari 355 Spider

5. He's a self confessed clothes addict who flies to New York to go shopping, and says he buys two of everything - one to wear and one to keep unwrapped

Tags: Danny Cipriani, Guinness Premiership Rugby Union Betting, Paul Sackey, Ralph Ellis, Tom Varndell, Wasps Rugby