Danny Cipriani has not played for England since November 2008 © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Danny Cipriani

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Teams: England | Melbourne Rebels | Rebels

Danny Cipriani still harbours hopes of making England's squad for next year's World Cup, insisting that he has not given up on an international recall despite agreeing a move to Australia with the Melbourne Rebels.

The former Wasps fly-half has been out of the international picture for two years and faces an uphill struggle to regain Martin Johnson's affection given that the Super Rugby season coincides with next year's Six Nations.

"If I'm playing well hopefully I'll play some part in the squad," Cipriani told BBC Sport. "My whole life has been geared towards playing for England and that's always been my ambition. Obviously this doesn't look like a direct route to achieving that, it's slightly diverted, but I believe it's the way to get me to be the best player I can be.

"Right now I'm not fitting into the coaches' plans so I just want to make sure I can do the best I can and improve myself and make sure I get picked. They've said that if I'm abroad it's going to be difficult because my season starts in February when the Six Nations starts so I won't have much time to play international rugby, but I'll never say never.

"Hopefully they can see what I'm doing but I think they've got what they're looking for for the World Cup so I've got to be selfish and make myself the best I can. By the time my contract is up I'll be 24 and things could go so swimmingly that I stay down there."

Cipriani made headlines last week after missing a Rebels pre-season get-together due to visa issues, but he is adamant that the new challenge excites him.

"I'm really looking forward to the challenge of going to Melbourne, it's going to be a pretty special time down there," Cipriani said. "It's the best brand of rugby that there is and there are already huge names down there like Matt Giteau and Dan Carter, so I don't think people need any more reason to watch Super 15.

"It's a competition I've always dreamed of playing in because [former All Black full-back] Christian Cullen was always my idol and that's the competition he played in. I want to improve as a player and I should do that just through the training, let alone the playing, because of the calibre of personnel Melbourne have in the team.

"But also I'll be playing against Carter, Giteau, Morne Steyn and Quade Cooper, players with a ridiculous amounts of talent, it's exciting to be able to pit myself against the best in the world."