2008 may be ten years ago, but in the mind of Danny Cipriani time has flown by.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the 30-year-old said:
2008 seems like just a minute ago,
Time is a man-made construct, so it is what it is.
With his last start in an England shirt being made in 2008, Cipriani is seeing vast differences now to what he experienced as a 20-year-old.
I wasn’t really in the moment then. I was young and everything was going by me.
An international career largely derailed by injury and incident, Cipriani has been handed a reprieve by England head coach Eddie Jones.
Integral to Wasps’ playoff runs the last two seasons, Jones essentially had his hand forced by the mercurial fly-half.
Appearing as a replacement in the second Test of England’s tour of South Africa, Cipriani and his teammates were unable to salvage the series as the Springboks kept England frustrated.
With the tour lost, Jones has moved to reward the diligent Cipriani with a start in the final Test in Cape Town.
A string of mishaps capped with a 2016 drink driving conviction, it appears the Londoner has learned from his mistakes:
Each year along the way there has been plenty for me to learn, and now I’m here I’m completely grateful. Could I have had this? Could I have that? I don’t know. But right now the opportunity is ahead of me.
The mistakes I’ve made, the lessons I’ve learned – I’ve tried to become a better person.
The road Cipriani has taken is less than orthodox, but he’s never lost the grander vision of his career:
You have those voices that come into your head. But it’s about perseverance and resilience. It’s about whatever your bigger picture is and to not lose sight of that. For me, it has always been about playing for England.
