England must not leave Danny Cipriani out, says Sale boss Steve Diamond

Eddie Jones has been urged to keep Danny Cipriani in the England squad by the man who helped revive his career.

Fly-half Cipriani was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £250 in compensation to a police officer after being found guilty of common assault and resisting arrest outside a nightclub in Jersey earlier this week. He later issued an apology via social media.

The 30-year-old was on a pre-season tour with his new club Gloucester, who will hold an investigation but have said the fly-half has their full support.

England are due to name their next training squad on September 20 ahead of the autumn internationals in November, .

Head coach Jones has not spoken publicly about the Cipriani incident but Steve Diamond, the director of rugby who worked with the player for four years at Sale, said: “It would be too harsh [to leave him out].

“England need all the help they can get at the moment and players like Danny are few and far between, so I think he’ll be pulled into line by [Gloucester coach Johan] Ackermann a little bit.

“He’s not even worn the Gloucester shirt yet. He has to get himself back on the field and on the back pages.”

Cipriani said he was “truly sorry” and also added: “It goes without saying, given the words of the Magistrate, that I didn’t strike anyone or initiate aggression in any way.

“I would like to publicly thank the Magistrate and the police and, once again, apologise both to them and to the public.”

Speaking to the BBC, Diamond added: “With most rugby players, you’re not employing the Pope. They’re young lads. We’re still two weeks away from the start of the season, they’ve gone away on a good tour, they’re getting what they need to get out of it and something has happened.

“If anything, he should know a little bit better than most as people are waiting for him to make mistakes. He has apologised profusely, he’s paid his fine and he moves on.”