Danny Cipriani accuses England captain Owen Farrell and other stars of running the team like a ‘MAFIA’ at the 2015 World Cup… and opens up on his explosive row with coach Mike Catt
Danny Cipriani accuses England captain Owen Farrell and other stars of running the team like a ‘MAFIA’ at the 2015 World Cup…and begins his explosive spat with coach Mike Catt
- Danny Cipriani was part of the England camp ahead of the 2015 World Cup
- However, he did not make the last selection of 31 men who dropped out in the groups
- Cipriani has opened up about some of his teammates and his feud with Mike Catt
Danny Cipriani has claimed that England captain Owen Farrell and George Ford were part of a leadership group that ran the 2015 Rugby World Cup team like a ‘mafia’.
In his autobiography ‘Who am I?’ Cipriani explained the England team and his explosive spat with coach Mike Catt.
In an extract from his book, issued by the SunCipriani claimed that Owen Farrell, George Ford, Chris Robshaw, Dan Cole and Ben Youngs belonged to a leadership group.
He said that while he believed he got along well with them, he also said they were “always making plans.”
He said: ‘Sam (Burgess) is in a WhatsApp group with the mob, until one day he posts a picture on Instagram of me and him in a coffee shop. A few hours later, George takes a screenshot of the photo and sends it to Sam, before removing him from the group.
Danny Cipriani has accused Owen Farrell and other players of running England’s 2015 Rugby World Cup team ‘like a mafia’
Cipriani said Farrell, George Ford (right) and others always seemed to have “cunning plans.”
Cipriani failed to make the finals for the 2015 World Cup squad after playing as part of their warm-up camp
“Sam doesn’t care, but I guess I’m not sure what I did to offend them, but obviously I’m not as welcome as I thought.”
England were knocked out of the group stage of the 2015 Rugby World Cup when they finished behind defeated finalists Australia and Wales in their group.
Cipriani was part of the summer camp preparing for the World Cup, although he was not selected for the final squad.
Catt, who was offensive coach under head coach Stuart Lancaster, was involved in a verbal confrontation with Cipriani after the latter was told he would not make the final roster.
It is alleged that Catt told Cipriani he would never play for England again as long as he was involved in the set-up.
Cipriani (left) fell out with Mike Catt (right), with the latter claiming the rugby star would not play for England again as long as he was involved in the set-up.
Cipriani said: ‘They just told me I’m not in the World Cup and now this w***** is getting the dick out of me. It happens again: “F***ing s*** Danny, work harder!” – this time I’ve had enough.
“I walk right up to him, stand in his face and say, ‘Do you have something to say to me, Mike Catt?’ He begins to stutter, before yelling in my face, with saliva flying all over the place: “As long as I’m involved, you’ll never play for England again!”