Sale Sharks fly-half Danny Cipriani has expressed his desire to grow up and fulfil his potential after a turbulent year.
The 25-year-old, who was once tipped to be the next big thing in rugby, was recently hit by a bus during a night out in Leeds and also witnessed the death of friend and Surrey cricketer Tom Maynard.
However, Cipriani insists that these are just some of the events that have made him reevaluate his life and strive to achieve success.
"It is frustrating that I'm not doing what I should be doing but I know on my day that is what people have said. And as much as I have wanted to blame other people, it is me, isn't it? I'm just glad I've realised this now," Cipriani told Sky Sports News. "It is the first time I've reflected on that. It is mixed emotions of frustration, everything.
"As a kid I was always selected, I was always top dog, I was the guy who had to get the runs, take the wickets, score the goals. In rugby, people look to me too. I'm just so glad that I'm 25 not 35. I'm just used to being spoilt and that being the way it is, it has always been my life and I do have to grow up and be a better person in that way.
"Maybe I could have realised this a year ago but maybe I was too stubborn to actually wake up and smell the coffee. But through a course of events I have been made to do that. I don't want to be as dramatic as saying being hit by a bus was a life-changing scenario, because even before the bus I had been making a few changes in my life but it has given me an extra impetus and it gives you a new sense of life."
Cipriani has seven caps for England.
Matt Cotton
