May 05, 2011
However, he came to Melbourne with the fanfare of being the Rebels' first signed player and the promise of setting the Super Rugby competition on fire. Unfortunately, things have not panned out the way the Rebels' powerbrokers would have liked. The 23-year-old has won games - and kept the Rebels in them - with his goalkicking, but he has also contributed to some of their most humbling losses through his poor defence, which rates as the worst of any player in the competition.
Off the field he has been a distraction as well, and now he has been stood down for disobeying team orders and going out on the town with teammate Richard Kingi after the Rebels' loss to New South Wales last weekend. It is his second breach of team standards this year.
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For a team that has taken every opportunity to promote its lofty club ethos, Cipriani has seemingly struggled to fit in with the principles. For this, the club officials must take some of the blame. It is not as though the Rebels powerbrokers did not know what they were getting.
Coach Rod Macqueen and other officials did their utmost to shield Cipriani from Australian media when he arrived for the pre-season. They knew his tabloid reputation in the UK and wanted to keep the media away until they had a chance to indoctrinate him into the Rebels culture and style of play.
But as things now stand, his contribution on the field is non-existent as he serves his penalty. It would be nice to see him work through his issues, for which it is believed he is now receiving help, and show his talent - and an ability to tackle - through to the end of next season. But there comes a time when a cost versus benefits analysis is taken and, surely, now Cipriani must be on his last chance
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