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Sale and England fly-half Danny Cipriani has been charged with drink-driving after being involved in car accident earlier this year, police have confirmed.
Cipraini, 28, was unhurt in the collision after his Mercedes hit a Toyota in the Chelsea area of London shortly after 5am on 1 June. Cipriani was given a breath test at the scene before being taken to a west London police station and released on bail.
Scotland Yard confirmed that Cipriani was charged on Thursday and will appear at West London Magistrates’ Court on 10 December to answer the charge.
Danny Cipriani was arrested hours after playing for England against the Barbarians (GETTY IMAGES) The accident came just hours after Cipriani put in a man-of-the-match performance for England against the Barbarians in a non-Test match at Twickenham in south-west London. Despite battling his way back into the England fold, Cipraini failed to make the cut for Stuart Lancaster’s 31-man Rugby World Cup squad.
Show all 15 1 /15Rugby World Cup team of the tournament Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 15. Ben Smith (New Zealand) He did not look quite so special sitting on the naughty step, watching the Wallabies resurrect themselves against an understaffed silver-ferned defence, but the Otago full-back was the quintessence of All Black rugby: bold, skillful and too clever for words. Silver medal: Ayumu Goromaru (Japan)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 14. Santiago Cordero (Argentina) Far from complete – witness his difficulties in contact on semi-final day against Australia – but the 21-year-old from Buenos Aires was one of those most responsible for the new Puma style. A broken-field specialist who breaks the field on his own. Silver medal: Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 13. Conrad Smith (New Zealand) Understated? That’s an understatement. But genius of the quiet kind is still genius – watch his role in creating the opening try in the final – and as he winds down, he joins Gerber, Sella, Guscott, Umaga and O’Driscoll in the pantheon. Silver medal: Marcello Bosch (Argentina)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 12. Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand) If he’d done only what it said on the tin, he’d have been easier to handle. Unfortunately for his opponents, his skill set ran wider and deeper than popularly assumed. Big plays in big matches from a very big bloke. Silver medal: Matt Giteau (Australia)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 11. D T H Van der Merwe (Canada) Who? Let’s put it this way: if those All Black wings were on Easy Street, living life on the front foot and gorging on opportunities created by a stellar midfield, this fellow performed loaves-and-fishes miracles in a very limited team. Silver medal: Julian Savea (New Zealand)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 10. Dan Carter (New Zealand) There were rich pickings in this position – Dan Biggar, Nicolas Sanchez, Bernard Foley – but who could seriously dispute that the millionaire performances came from the best outside-half of the professional era. His drop goals alone were worth a king’s ransom. Silver medal: Dan Biggar (Wales)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 9. Greig Laidlaw (Scotland) A goal-kicking general in the French tradition, the captain emptied himself in an effort to keep his side in a tournament many feared might end depressingly quickly. But for some poor refereeing, he’d have made it to the last weekend. Silver medal: Fourie du Preez (South Africa)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 1. Marcos Ayerza (Argentina) He would cringe at the thought of the comparison, but the Puma loose-head specialist is the Dan Carter of his position. A master front-rower with an artistic streak, how does he play Bach on the piano with those fingers? Silver medal: Mihail Nariashvili (Georgia)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 2. Shota Horie (Japan) Japan weren’t meant to be able to scrummage and nobody gave them a prayer at the line-out, so the hooker must have been doing a hell of a lot right during the pool stages. He could throw a pass, too. Silver medal: Agustin Creevy (Argentina)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 3. W P Nel (Scotland) Agreed, he’s a South African from the Northern Cape rather than a Scot from the highlands, but he worked wonders for the blue-shirted front row. A genuine scrum-breaker and durable with it, he gave his side the platform they craved. Silver medal: Manasa Saulo (Fiji)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 4. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand) Crikey, what a player. The man from Rangiora out-ran, out-jumped, out-carried, out-tackled, out-rucked and out-thought his rivals. Scariest of all, he could be the mother lode figure in the New Zealand pack for two more World Cup cycles at least. Silver medal: Kane Douglas (Australia)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 5. Leone Nakarawa (Fiji) Rugby athleticism made flesh. Some of his open-field running beggared belief, especially when the Pacific islanders took Wales to the limit of their endurance in Cardiff, and the technical aspects of his game were almost as impressive. A star turn. Silver medal: Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 6. Scott Fardy (Australia) If the Wallabies had gone the whole way, the blind-side flanker would have deserved a specially-minted medal all of his own for services rendered in the face of widespread ignorance. His contribution went unrecognised by too many for too long. Silver medal: Michael Leitch (Japan)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand) He does not lord it over his rivals as he once did: it could be argued that Francois Louw, Michael Hooper and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe matched him blow for blow. But once again, he was the last man standing. Silver medal: Francois Louw (South Africa)
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Rugby World Cup team of the tournament 8. David Pocock (Australia) Head, shoulders, waist and knees above the other 8s in the tournament, performing the role in an unorthodox but highly effective fashion. A prime example of a deep thinker away from the game bringing depth of thought to his rugby. Silver medal: Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
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The former Wasps and Melbourne Rebels stand-off has played in all four of Sale’s Aviva Premiership matches this season, scoring 29 points which included a try in the 27-13 victory over Worcester Warriors.
