England Rugby
Lancaster cool on Cipriani's England chances
ESPNscrum Staff
December 17, 2011
Rebels fly-half Danny Cipriani in action during a pre-season clash against Worcester, Worcester Warriors v Melbourne Rebels, Sixways Stadium, Worcester, England, August 15, 2011
Danny Cipriani has been told to focus on playing for the Rebels © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Danny Cipriani | Stuart Lancaster
Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations
Teams: England

Interim England coach Stuart Lancaster has ruled out recalling Danny Cipriani into the national team for next year's Six Nations.

Cipriani was frozen out of the England set-up by former coach Martin Johnson, and has since moved from the London Wasps to new Super Rugby side the Melbourne Rebels. Lancaster initially suggested he would consider an immediate recall for the fly-half, but has instead decided to leave Cipriani to establish himself in Australia.

"Danny's got to bed himself down with a load of new team-mates who have arrived at the Rebels," Lancaster told the Daily Telegraph. "The reality is that Super 15 takes place during the Six Nations Championship. Danny's priority is to get game time."

Meanwhile, Lancaster insists off-field lessons from the World Cup in New Zealand have been learned. The England boss will aim to keep players in England for training camps in order to improve player discipline.

"We'll be reminding players what a privilege it is to play for England," said Lancaster. "There will be addresses from those who have represented their countries in different sports as well as from those who have fought for their country.

"You can't ignore what was revealed nor should you pore over it forensically. There's no point either in blaming media distortion. It's important to be honest and then positive. I don't believe there were serious rifts there. We need a framework and for us all to set, and buy into, new standards and codes of behaviour."

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