Danny Cipriani becomes latest ex-England player to diss Eddie Jones

Danny Cipriani has become the latest former England player to criticise Eddie Jones’ coaching methods, accusing the Australian of an overly confrontational approach and insisting he is “not someone that I’d want to lead my country.”

The comments made by Cipriani, who won just two caps under Jones and was left out of the final 31-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup during his tenure, echo similar accusations by scrum-half Danny Care, who described a toxic environment akin to a “dictatorship” in his recent autobiography.

The 37-year-old Cipriani is preparing to pull on his boots for the first time in two years on Sunday when he takes part in a unique hybrid match at Headingley to raise funds to research and support those living with motor neurone disease, contrived by the late Rob Burrow and Cipriani’s former England teammate Ed Slater, who was diagnosed in 2022.

Reflecting on his abridged international career under Jones, Cipriani said: “My experiences of Eddie are he probably felt that I would stand up to him too much and he didn’t feel like he could bully me, so he just didn’t bring me into the environment.

“I’m not here to bash Eddie, (but) as an individual he is not somebody that I would want to lead my country because of the way he carries himself. That is his experience of the world.

"I know he has had a tough one and he has got his chip on his shoulder and he leads with that everywhere he goes, and he is always in a fight. I don’t think he is happy with the way he is behaving and the way he is. It’s all he knows how to do, so I also have compassion for him.”

Cipriani was widely credited with having saved Jones’ job in 2018 by setting up the try that secured a victory against South Africa in the final Test with the Springboks having already taken a 2-0 lead, in what was to be the last of his 16 appearances for England.

Jones led England to consecutive Six Nations Championships and the 2019 World Cup final, but his reign petered out amid increasing questions over his coaching style. Cipriani, who is now based in Los Angeles, added: “You can win games in rugby doing whatever you want to do because we have got so many good players, but I don’t really judge you as a coach on that.

“It’s more how do you uplift a nation, how do you inspire players and get them play outside of themselves. When coaches do that then I’m listening. I found Eddie difficult in that sense because I was turning water into wine one season and he didn’t even pick me, so it was mad.”

Cipriani said he is relishing the opportunity to play in the match on Sunday, dubbed the 745 Game in honour of the shirt numbers worn by Burrow, Slater and Scotland great Doddie Weir, and which will be played under a series of unique cross-code rules.

He will be joined by former stars of both codes including fellow ex-England union internationals Billy Twelvetrees and Tom Youngs, and league players Keith Senior, Adrian Morley and Danny McGuire.

Cipriani added: “I’m more than fit enough to play professional rugby right now but there is no one who can pay me enough money to do it because of all the squabble that goes with it. The only reason I’d put my boots on was for my mate Ed, and come back and play a game for the people where we can all create a day which is going to go down in history.

“For human beings that I have met and spent time with, Ed was a leader who led with his heart and compassion. And he was one of the few players I would see who would stand up to coaches and say the truth, not just go with what is said all the time.

“He had that masculine energy to him that I respected and I’ll do whatever I can to help him in that way.”