Rugby: Flutey in line for England return

Former Super 12 midfielder Riki Flutey looks likely to hold on to his spot in the England backline when the Six Nations gets under way next month.

Danny Cipriani will have to wait until the summer tour of Australia and New Zealand at the earliest before resuming his England career. The Wasps first five-eighths has not done enough to oust Jonny Wilkinson, Toby Flood and Shane Geraghty as the country's candidates at No 10 in the 32-man England squad to be named next week.

The good news for the much talked-about Cipriani, who was to play at fullback against Carl Hayman's Newcastle overnight in his second match after a two-month injury lay-off, is that after blotting his copybook with the national management at a training camp in Portugal at the start of 2009, he goes into the new year with a clean disciplinary slate.

The bad news is that Martin Johnson and his coaches are as yet unconvinced the 22-year-old has the necessary skills to be an international No 10.

There is a belief that Cipriani is a free spirit better suited as a fullback, on the bench or continuing to develop with his club and the second-string England Saxons.

A similar argument weighed against Northampton's Ben Foden, who was told to forget his pretensions as a halfback because of a lack of communication with the forwards, but he has found his niche at fullback.

Foden will vie with Delon Armitage of London Irish for the No 15 jersey against Wales in the Six Nations Championship opener at Twickenham on February 6, while Flutey will reclaim the second five-eighths position if he proves his fitness for French club Brive.

Tellingly, both Armitage and Flutey have earned what a well-placed England source called "enough credit" to be recalled almost immediately after their shoulder injuries, whereas Cipriani still has much to prove.

The source described as "complete rubbish" a tabloid tale that Cipriani got an England coach in a headlock on the pre-Six Nations trip to Portugal last January. But it is understood a pattern of behaviour including lateness for meetings and leaving the playbook lying around afterwards counted against him. When the Sun newspaper carried reports of a bust-up, Cipriani was confronted by Johnson and denied any involvement in feeding the story.

The pivotal first five-eighths position, often referred to by England's attack coach Brian Smith as the "general" or "quarterback", requires trust from teammates and Wilkinson, who started the three late-year tests, and Flood, who guided England to wins over France and Scotland in the Six Nations, are way ahead on that score.

Then there is the gossip columns' fixation with Cipriani and actress girlfriend Kelly Brook which, while a million flashbulbs away from that lavished on Posh and Becks, has no parallel in English rugby, as Wasps' director of rugby, New Zealander Tony Hanks, points out.

"In New Zealand everyone wants to know about the All Blacks," said Hanks. "Here there's only three or four players at one time who get that real attention. Danny's got to deal with that and with the expectation."

- INDEPENDENT