Danny Cipriani will probably like the comparison more. Indeed, Ronaldinho probably doesn’t even know who Cipriani is. But they seemed twinned right now, two athletes of undoubted genius, left to mope on the sidelines because their coaches share a view that egocentric pretty boys are not necessarily what makes a team.

I can move seamlessly from rugby to football here, because that is exactly what I did at the weekend – watched the Lions lose in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon, then quickly deserted the sinking ship and headed down to Ellis Park in Johannesburg for Brazil versus USA in the final of the Confederations Cup.

Ronaldinho was nowhere to be seen. Just like Cipriani. Because neither have been selected.

Cipriani, you may recall, was recently selected for the bench of what was effectively the England B/C team. Meanwhile, it seems astonishing that Ronaldinho, the greatest player on earth three years ago, should have slipped so fast; it also seems inconceivable that he won’t be here at the World Cup next year. He will be only 30 years old.

Both Cipriani and Ronaldinho have had poor seasons. Ronaldinho enjoys his time away from the game. You get my drift. And you do not need me to make the comparison again.

Both Dunga, the Brazil coach, and Martin Johnson, who needs no introduction, are banking on a good psychological kicking doing a job for them here. Both were hard men as players and have taken that attitude into their dealings with their respective wayward stars, opting for the stick – rather than carrot – approach.

The fortunes of Cipriani will surely be one of the most fascinating backdrops to the new rugby season. Some say that he needs a good cuddle. Others would suggest that he has had quite enough already.

But my opinion is that the stick approach has achieved nothing. Cipriani does not appear to have been brought to heel. He hasn’t responded to misfortune by digging in and giving weekly reminders of his brilliance. And while that does not reflect well on him, surely it does England no good to keep him apparently inescapably trapped in a long downward spiral. Rather than kick him while he is down, maybe the new season is the time for a hand up instead.

Brazil's religious zeal

Watching Brazil on Sunday, it was quickly apparent how Dunga has remodelled the character of the team. For a start, the Brazil of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo three years ago never used to pray so earnestly together after victory. There was no apparent restraint in the religious zeal with which the current team, under captain Luciao and his “I Love Jesus” T-shirt, celebrated winning the Confederations Cup.

After the final whistle had put the seal on their comeback from 2-0 down to 3-2 up, they all linked arms in one large circle and danced enthusiastically anti-clockwise. Nothing unusual in that, clockwise or anti. But then, still in their circle, they fell to their knees while Luciao did the prayers.

The point here is nothing to do with the apparent growth of evangelism on the playing field, it is merely to point out how Brazil have changed. This is now the team of a) Luciao and b) Kaka, who are almightily different to the aforementioned party-boys. And that is, of course, a generalisation, because no one would ever accuse Robinho of being an altar boy. Yet you do wonder about team dynamics.