England have X-factor without him but Danny Cipriani remains in their plans, says attack coach Scott Wisemantel

Danny Cipriani was the obvious absentee from England’s training camp that concluded in Bristol today, but that did not stop attack coach Scott Wisemantel from praising the “X-factor” that the exiled fly-half possesses.

Cipriani was the big name left out of the 36-man squad that Eddie Jones named last week, with Sam Simmonds and Sam Underhill also among those surprisingly left out, even though he started England’s most recent Test victory against South Africa just three months ago. That match in Cape Town saw Cipriani come up with the moment of magic that helped see England over the line in the form of Jonny May’s try, but his omission from the latest squad, combined with the injury-enforced absence of Manu Tuilagi, has left the back line looking a little bit flat.

Forty-eight-year-old Wisemantel was brought into the camp ahead of the summer tour to try and inspire England’s attacking game back to the heights it enjoyed during 2016 - particularly the tour of Australia whitewash when Glen Ella filled the role - but does his plan have space for someone as talented yet polarising as Cipriani?

“I don’t think that’s the case [that we don’t trust instinctive talent],” Wisemantel said. “Danny is still in the mix. He’s not here. We only needed two fly-halves as it’s a short camp. But by no means is Danny scrapped. He’s just not here.

“The guy has got X-factor, he’s got talent. There’s no doubt about it. It’s a nice situation because now you have to make decisions and that’s what you want to do. From a coach’s point of view you want as many people in each position so you have tough calls to make.”

While Cipriani was the creative spark behind the win over the Springboks, May was man who not only had the pace to score it but also take his tally to three breathtaking tries from as many Test matches.

Of course England returned from South Africa with a first series defeat since Jones took charge of the side and a run of games that still shows five losses from their last six outings. But May’s form was certainly one of the positives to come out of the tour, along with the general attacking play from the entire back-three as Mike Brown and Elliot Daly combined with May to score an impressive six tries across the three Tests.

That contingent has now been added to by fit-again Jack Nowell and the uncapped Joe Cokanasiga, who has been seizing his chance to impress with Bath this season and may well be the most exciting young talent in the Premiership, as his two excellent finishes against Harlequins earlier this month demonstrated.

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Asked if there was still X-factor without Cipriani, Wisemantel said: “There is some in the squad. Joe [Cokanasiga] has come into the camp and has had a good start to the season with Bath, so it's there in the Premiership.

“But sometimes everything gets overshadowed and you don't see the good stuff that was on the tour.

“Jonny May scored three tries in three Tests. That's quite an amazing feet. He's got X-factor but because he's been around a bit, you tend to forget that. It's definitely there. Everyone wants X-factor across the park, but the beauty about the England team is that we have really hard working and diligent players. Amongst that, you want that little bit of X-factor.

“We gave him [May] some basic principles to work on. They weren't rules, they were principles. So he had the freedom to express himself. Anyone who knows Jonny knows he's a little bit special, so you have to let him have that freedom to express himself. I think he found freedom in that and it was good to see him do well.

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Asked if May can go on to rival the likes of Ben Smith and Rieko Ioane as the best wing in world rugby, Wisemantel answered: “I hope so. And that's my job - to make him the best player he can be.”

The Australian, who is part of a new-look England coaching team that sees New Zealander John Mitchell in charge of the defence, has only committed to the role until the end of the autumn internationals, but Jones has made it clear that he is impressed with his work and wants to keep him until next year’s Rugby World Cup at the very least.

Should he sign up for the long-term, Wisemantel will have 20 matches to turn England’s fortunes around and transform them from a team with this supposed potential that he and Jones and the rest of the coaches talk about so often into a side that can genuinely outplay the All Blacks et al in Japan next year. But he will also not panic, having used his own nation’s experience three years ago to demonstrate how England can still have a say at the business end of the World Cup.

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“You want to get on a bit of a roll and win but you look at World Cups and they are funny things,” he added. “Australia made the final in 2015 and they were really shaky a year out. It is more about developing a system, developing a squad that can lead in to the World Cup with momentum. That’s the big thing.

“[The All Blacks] are going to score points so you have to match it with points. Three plus three plus three plus three probably ain’t going to stack up when they score three tries. Mitch [Mitchell] as defence coach may debate that now, saying maybe we’ll concede one, which would be fantastic, but you do have to look to score tries against them,.

“Fundamentally, we have to score tries.

“But it is also about getting the basics right. Getting the basic skills perfect. The simple early catch. The ability to put the ball into space. The ability to run lines. Those type of things. The detail around that. Those things are really, really important at every level. You guys talk about the All Blacks but that is what they do fundamentally really well. There is not a lot of trickery in what they do. They do the basics really well and they do it consistently.”