Danny Cipriani thought he had played his last game of rugby and had no desire to get back on to the field, but he will be back in action at Headingley this afternoon to support his former Gloucester clubmate Ed Slater raise funds to help research into motor neurone disease.
Cipriani, an outside-half whose determination to stand up to coaches restricted him to 16 England caps over 10 years, is based in Los Angeles where he is filming documentaries two years after he finished his career at Bath.
He rarely watches union, a sport he believes is fighting for survival because the spirit of players is being crushed under coaching, but flew out on Friday to show the respect he has for Slater, the 36-year-old second row who was diagnosed with MND two years ago, and to raise awareness of the condition.
The match at Headingley is a hybrid of league and union. It was devised by Slater and the rugby league international Rob Burrow who passed away in June after a long battle with MND. Called the 745 game after the numbers worn by Slater, Burrows and Doddie Weir, the Scotland and Lions lock who died two years ago having dedicated his final years to campaigning for funding to help find a cure for MND, it will feature the likes of Cipriani, Tom Youngs, Tom Wood, Adrian Morley, Keith Senior and Danny McGuire.
“I cannot wait to play in the game,” said Cipriani before flying to England. “I always wanted to play league, and as I understand it union rules will operate in your half and league in the opposition’s, and to represent Ed, Rob and Doddie.
“Rugby is a game of the people and they are three men who put their hearts on the line to raise awareness for those who have a disease for which there is no answer. They are my driving force, not playing rugby again.”
Esta historia es de la edición November 17, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 17, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
I always wanted to play an exciting form of rugby
THERE were periods of my career where I felt like I was playing well enough to earn a shot with England. However, if you look at the way England’s gone, even with Marcus Smith now, he gets taken off when he is playing fantastic rugby just because he’s more of a flair player and as a result has a stigma attached.
England must find a way to deliver
WITH Christmas fast approaching, it’s time for us all to look forward to better things and hope we achieve them.
I've still got plenty to give, says Beaumont
JOSH Beaumont prepares to put his body on the festive front line again in the Sale cause revealing his biggest “regret” has been not winning an England cap.
Saracens fight back to overcome Bears
SARACENS secured a pulsating victory over a Hannah Botterman-inspired Bristol Bears to move to within a point of the summit of the table.
Hopkins in snatch it
AFTER the resignation of their popular head coach Toby Booth earlier in the week, Ospreys were given a huge boost when replacement Iestyn Hopkins crashed over with the clock in overtime to condemn their fiercest rivals to yet another defeat in Swansea.
No Mostert? That's got to be a mistake
HERE'S a funny thing: one of the more prominent rugby sites on the world wide web super information highway thingy has just published its list of the 100 best players in the sport. And no, the Spring-bok lock Franco Mostert isn't in it. ALLOWED
Tompkins hits the 200-mark for Saracens
MARK McCall has hailed Nick Tompkins, who makes his 200th appearance today for Saracens against champions Northampton at StoneX Stadium, as the epitome of a player the club aims to produce.
Anguish for Chiefs as Sale march on
GEORGE Ford’s educated right boot proved hugely instrumental as Sale subjected rock-bottom Exeter to yet more misery and gloom.
Rampaging Bears tear Tigers apart
BRISTOL produced a memorable display of attacking rugby which left Leicester thoroughly shaken and stirred.
England's outsiders deserve a chance niveste cu
IT’S just six weeks before the start of the 2025 Six Nations, and since Steve Borthwick became England head coach his main message to the media has been we want to get better. However, by the end of the autumn series, Borthwick had become a bit more critical, saying that England were not fit enough, and were not carrying what they had been doing in training into matches.
