Danny Cipriani: Hero or villian?
- Charlie Hynes
- Mar 25, 2020
- 3 min read
Meeting your heroes is something that can destroy childhood perception of an individual that impacted parts of your life without that person having knowledge of that at all.
For many young Wasps Rugby fans growing up like myself, Danny Cipriani was the man.
A number 10 with road runner like pace and natural flare, he was the perfect role model for a young fly-half. From my blinkered outlook anyway.
The game that stands out in memory is his monumental performance against Ireland in the 2008 Six Nations that looked to have launched his international career. However, the ‘private’ life of a sports star is never far away from being unveiled by the Snooping media.
Bad press from certain events saw Cipriani shunned by a number of the rugby public disregarding the other side of the story.
It adds a different perspective now given recent events and Cipriani revealing his past struggles with his mental health, not helped by the murder of crow like journalists repeatedly scrutinising his every move.
But how is he a role model?
Forming judgement based upon black lettering in a red top publication is the same as judging the book by its cover. Little did I know that I would be able to make my own judgement sooner than thought that would see me go full circle.
A press day at Gloucester’s Hartpury training base hidden in the Cotswold landscape much like the 32-year-old's true feelings and thoughts.
There was a build-up in tension in the lead up to his entrance like he was some Hollywood star. His presence was immediately felt hitting the room like a beefy back rower clearing a breakdown.
I had done many interviews before with a feeling of anxiousness but I felt at ease as if he was an old friend I’d known for years.
The fly-half spoke extremely philosophically in response to run of the mill questions that didn’t offer the legs that he produced, poetically talking about his past troubles.
Cipriani’s willingness to open up to people that had made him feel vulnerable in the past showed the strength of the man. He spoke about what he’d learnt from books on how to improve and remove that ego that the media had eluded to throughout his career.
Expressing an outlook on life that made everyone in the room look at life from different perspectives showed that he is no normal man.
The moment that gave the best representation of the man was after the interview in which as a student journalist I expected to just pack up and go. However, after speaking to a number of the senior press he made an effort to come over and thank us for coming with a firm handshake and broad smile across his face.
This made me think about what my eight-year-old self would’ve made of the encounter. To come through the adversity that he has faced in his career with the level of scrutiny reassured my thoughts of him as a hero and role model.
He had transcended from being a player I loved to watch play the sport I love a certain way to a role model that had the respect and forgiveness to open up with people that had been the devil on his back.
Read our past article on Danny Cipriani here:
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