England rugby star Danny Cipriani charged with drink-driving

England fly-half Danny Cipriani has been charged with drink-driving, London's Metropolitan Police said Friday.

The Sale stand-off was not hurt in a collision between his Mercedes car and a Toyota in the Chelsea area of west London shortly after 5:00am local time (0400 GMT) on June 1.

The 28-year-old was given a breath test and taken to a west London police station before being released on bail.

Police confirmed he was charged on Thursday and will appear at West London Magistrates' Court on December 10.

There were no reports of any injuries following the crash.

Cipriani is widely regarded as one of the most talented English backs of his generation, yet he failed to be selected for England's squad at the recent World Cup -- where the team became the first host nation to fail to get out of the group phase -- amid a training ground row with attacking skills coach Mike Catt.

He had pressed his case for inclusion by coming off the bench to inspire an England rally in a 25-20 defeat by France in Paris in a warm-up match in August but it was not enough to convince England coach Stuart Lancaster, who stepped down from his post on Wednesday, to include him in the 31-man World Cup squad.

Cipriani began his career at Wasps before a brief spell in Melbourne was followed by a return to England with north-west side Sale in 2012.

He has often found himself generating as many headlines in the news as the sports pages thanks to a high-profile lifestyle off the field that included a relationship with the actress and model Kelly Brook.
Source: AFP