Dallaglio: 'Danny can stop the rot'
September 25 2008
Former Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio has predicted that Danny Cipriani's return from a career threatening injury will kick-start the club's dreadful start to the season.
Wasps, the defending Guinness Premiership champions, have made their worst ever start to a season since the Courage League was introduced back in 1987. Three defeats from three games and all is not well at Adams Park.
However there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel with the news that Cipriani is set to complete a remarkable comeback less than six months after suffering a horrific ankle injury.
Wasps have suffered without Dallaglio's leadership on the field, and having gone through a similar situation to Cipriani's has been on hand to give the young fly-half some advice.
"I am a big fan of Danny's and have tried to impart some of my experience to him during this period," Dallaglio told The Evening Standard.
"He is a welcome addition to any team and it will be big lift to Wasps and England to have him at fly-half."
Cipriani's return will also be of great relief to England, who face an arduous Novemeber that sees them play the Pacific Islanders, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand on successive weekends.
"It is wonderful news for Martin Johnson and while there is no need to rush Danny right back into things, he is a player who wants to get into the thick of the action," Dallaglio added.
"His return makes England more dangerous as a team."
But first and foremost Cipriani will have to impress for Wasps, and in doing so will look to stop the slump that sees the club languishing one from bottom in the table.
Despite the poor start, Dallaglio, who is still heavily involved with the club as an Associate Director, doesn't see any reason to panic just yet. After all last season they lost five or their opening seven games and still won the title.
"Wasps have had a poor start by their own high standards but no one is pushing the panic button at the club," he said.
"We lost five of our first seven games last season and ended up with a trophy which said 'Guinness Premiership Champions' and people should not write us off so quickly.
"Wasps operate best when under intense pressure and are a very dangerous side."
Next up for Wasps are Leicester away, hardly the fixture you would pick after three straight defeats. But Dallaglio, who went through the same rehabilitation programme at Wasps as Cipriani has, believes he will make a full recovery.
"There are three things required to make a successful return from the kind of surgery that Danny and I have undergone," Dallaglio said.
"Firstly, you need a surgeon of the highest quality to do the operation, then the rehabilitation and aftercare has to be top drawer, which is what happens at Wasps with Danny also being helped enormously by athletics coach Margot Wells, and finally a player needs total dedication to undertake the challenge of battling back to full fitness.
"Less than 24 hours after the operation, Danny was ready to take all of that on and showed real determination to get back. Yes, he does enjoy the lifestyle of a successful sportsman but Danny also has incredible dedication and is prepared to put in the hard work."
Dallaglio will not be on hand to see Cipriani's comeback, expected to be against Bath on October 1, due to his fundraising efforts.
Having taken part in the Help for Heroes charity game at Twickenham last week, the former England captain is now embarking on a 930km bike ride between Biarritz and Perpignan for the rugby players' charity, the PRA Benevolent Fund, and Bliss, the charity for premature babies.
"When you retire from top-class sport, you do miss the adrenalin surge but I have been fortunate to be involved in an amazing day at Twickenham last Saturday and now I am off on a 930km bike ride from Biarritz to Perpignan," he added.
"It will be, quite literally, an uphill battle and while the knees and ankles took a hammering during my playing career, this time it's the heart and lungs as we will be heading up some ferocious mountains."