Filed under: Rugby Union, England Rugby, Wales Rugby
Just 24 hours after Gavin Henson was given a reprieve by Toulon, Danny Cipriani has become the latest high-profile player to land himself in hot water.And, ironically enough, it is probably going to be enough to stop the French club from also trying to recruit him to play alongside fellow transgressor Henson.
Henson was suspended by Toulon last month after allegedly fighting with captain Joe van Niekerk as well as criticising Jonny Wilkinson in a drunken nightclub incident.
Rather than show him the door, Toulon have given him one last chance - but it seems unlikely that Cipriani will be joining Henson in France.
Cipriani has been linked with a move to Toulon from his current club Melbourne Rebels because they will be short of fly-halves during the Autumn months as Wilkinson and new signing Matt Giteau will both be featuring at the World Cup.
However, Cipriani seems as keen as Henson to grab the headlines for all the wrong reasons and that is likely to be the kiss of death for any move back to the northern hemisphere.
In February he stole a bottle of vodka from a Melbourne nightclub and had to apologise to his fellow players for his drunken antics but it would appear he has not learned his lesson after being caught out on the town again - along with teammate Richard Kingi - despite an agreement among the Rebels' players they would stick to a curfew.
Cipriani seems incapable of heeding the advice given to him and has been suspended for one game. And although rugby players have always been fond of a night out and a drink, the England fly-half's inability to change his ways has not gone down well in Melbourne - nor it will in Toulon either.
Rebels captain Tim Davidson told planetrugby.com: "We have taken this action due to a breach of team protocol.
"We are very protective of our standards and we are disappointed that these players have put themselves before the team.
Chief executive Ross Oakley added: "Both players defied a team directive to abstain from staying out late on Saturday night, given the six-day break ahead of our next game.
"The club fully supports the decision of our player standards group."
The actions of Henson and Cipriani are infuriating to most fans.
Here are two internationally renowned names and fabulous players who seem intent on throwing away their talents and disrespecting their clubs and their supporters.
Henson was lucky Toulon decided to keep hold of him but it would be suprising indeed if they were to invite Cipriani to join him.
Quite simply, they do not need the hassle and the fact Cipriani is becoming more famous for his off-field antics than anything he does on the pitch will one day become a source of regret.
The 23-year-old, like Henson, has the world at his feet - it is about time he realised it.
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