England not Cipriani’s top priority after signing Gloucester extension

Danny Cipriani has not given up on forcing his way into the England side but the fly-half is solely focused on bringing success to Gloucester.

The 31-year-old signed a new contract at Kingsholm on Tuesday that will keep him at the club for the next three years.

Cipriani had been linked with a host of Premiership and Top 14 clubs but chose to commit his future to Gloucester after an impressive first season with the Cherry and Whites.

The last of his 16 international caps came in June 2018 and he has consistently been overlooked by Eddie Jones as England prepare for the Rugby World Cup later this year.

He has not given up hope of adding to that tally, although success at club level remains his top priority.

“There’s always the hope in that things [an England call-up] will come of it [good form for Gloucester],” he told the club’s television channel.

“But to be truly present and to be delivering your best is for me to make sure Gloucester are doing their best.

“I wouldn’t be doing the club a service by focusing too much on the exterior because that will either come or it won’t.

 SIGNING @gloucesterrugby are delighted to confirm that @DannyCipriani87 has agreed terms on a new extended contract to commit his future to the Cherry and Whites.

Read the updated news story https://t.co/QKGCr04LL9 pic.twitter.com/t2vcb0mLLO

— Gloucester Rugby (@gloucesterrugby) April 3, 2019

“All I can do is force the hand [of the England coach] in the best way I can in terms of my performance, how I drive the team, how I can lead them in the best way, my work on and off the ball, and how you perform every game.

“For me it is about ‘can we get the win, can we get the result?’ The team has always been my focus and that’s something I’ve really worked on in the last seven years since I’ve come back from Australia.

“Something that really inspires me is when the team does well, because it is never about one person.”

And Cipriani sees a bright future for Gloucester, the team currently sitting third in the Premiership table after 17 matches.

“It’s exciting to see how far this club can go,” he added. “We’ve had a great start so far, we’re finishing the season well so it’s nice to actually settle for the first time in a while.

“I think there is something special happening in terms of the culture and the way we’re growing this team. 

“Johan [Ackermann, Gloucester coach] is obviously at the forefront of that, the results have been brilliant recently and we’re in a strong position, but we don’t take anything for granted, we know that this year the Premiership is – from top to bottom – very tight. 

“We know that as well as we’re doing, we need to stay on our metal and make sure we’re performing every single week. 

“As much as there is a buzz, we know where we’re at and we know what we need to try and achieve over these next couple of weeks to put ourselves in good stead.”

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