The Breakdown | Danny Cipriani can show the England cap would fit in Saracens play-off


After being recognised by his fellow pros, the fly-half has a last chance to convince Eddie Jones he should go to World Cup

Danny Cipriani may not have been recognised by England this season but he has by his peers. The Gloucester fly-half was one of the five nominees for the Rugby Players’ Association player of the year in a list that was made up entirely of backs and topped the poll 11 years after he won the young player of the year award.

The shortlist did not include a player from Saracens, Saturday’s European Champions Cup finalists for the third season in four who are on course for a seventh Premiership final this decade. Owen Farrell is the only one of the club’s players who has been nominated in the last five seasons, residue, perhaps, of unsubstantiated suggestions – hotly disputed by the club – that they have not adhered to the salary cap regulations with fervour.

Related: Gloucester’s Danny Cipriani voted player of year by fellow professionals

Related: Leinster v Saracens will be a brutal final battle for European greatness | Robert Kitson

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