Why Danny Cipriani is not in the England World Cup squad

The awe with which the London rugby union press regards Danny Cipriani  has long puzzled me.

Today's example comes from Richard Williams in the Guardian:

The perception here is that Cipriani has what it would take to bring Twickenham to its feet next month, particularly in a squad that looks not so much undercooked as still in the freezer. Now he won’t get the chance. 

No head coach has made a more soul-deadening decision since Clive Woodward kept Gavin Henson out of his Lions side for the first Test in New Zealand a decade ago.

England do have a tendency to select prosaic rather than poetic fly halves - Rob Andrew rather than Stuart Barnes. Jonny Wilkinson was a formidable player, but if you wanted someone to launch your backs then Charlie Hodgson was a better bet.

But it is not that Cipriani has not been tried. As this video shows, he was tried and found wanting at international level.