SNATCHING Jonny Wilkinson’s crown as the golden boy of northern hemisphere rugby was only the first step for Danny Cipriani – now his sights are set on king of the south Dan Carter.
Cipriani is the favourite to be England’s first choice fly-half for the two-match tour of New Zealand in June after excelling on his first start in the Six Nations win over Ireland last weekend.
In the space of a few weeks, the hugely likeable 20-year-old, who still lives with his mother Anne in south-west London, has become the country’s most marketable sportsman. The Wasps star has been inundated with lucrative offers. Four publishing companies want to him write his life story, even though he isn’t 21 until November.
Also crossing his agent’s desk have been offers from a couple of high street stores which believe his clean-cut image could help them to boost sales.
Cipriani is also in line for a windfall from sportswear companies. With his current deal with Adidas up for renewal, rivals Nike, Puma and Reebok are all preparing for a bidding war for him to wear their gear.
I do think about England’s summer tour to New Zealand; massively because it is part of my dream
Danny Cipriani
Added to that, he has a six-figure newspaper column in the pipeline and is getting offers from glossy magazines and invitations to appear on television shows almost every day.
Earmarked for stardom from an early age, Cipriani was protected by PR rottweilers at the launch of Rugby Expo last week – like a Premier League footballer rather than a promising rugby player. Clearly, he has the world at his feet. And there is little doubt that an impressive showing against Carter and the All Blacks will raise his stock even further, which could cost Wasps even more money when they come to renegotiate his contract that has 12 months to run.
In the space of a few weeks, the hugely likeable 20-year-old, who still lives with his mother Anne in south-west London, has become the country’s most marketable sportsman. The Wasps star has been inundated with lucrative offers. Four publishing companies want to him write his life story, even though he isn’t 21 until November.
Also crossing his agent’s desk have been offers from a couple of high street stores which believe his clean-cut image could help them to boost sales.
Cipriani is also in line for a windfall from sportswear companies. With his current deal with Adidas up for renewal, rivals Nike, Puma and Reebok are all preparing for a bidding war for him to wear their gear.
I do think about England’s summer tour to New Zealand; massively because it is part of my dream
Danny Cipriani
Added to that, he has a six-figure newspaper column in the pipeline and is getting offers from glossy magazines and invitations to appear on television shows almost every day.
Earmarked for stardom from an early age, Cipriani was protected by PR rottweilers at the launch of Rugby Expo last week – like a Premier League footballer rather than a promising rugby player. Clearly, he has the world at his feet. And there is little doubt that an impressive showing against Carter and the All Blacks will raise his stock even further, which could cost Wasps even more money when they come to renegotiate his contract that has 12 months to run.
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