Danny Cipriani discovered the hard way yesterday that if you want to be the new Jonny Wilkinson, you must do more than kick your goals and make your tackles. You also have to be whiter than white in your private life. Having been photographed outside a London nightclub after midnight, the player was dropped from the England team to play Scotland tomorrow.

Cipriani, who was spotted leaving the 50 Dover Street nightclub in Mayfair, claimed that he had visited the venue only briefly to drop off some match tickets for a friend and that he had not drunk any alcohol. However, he said last night that he was full of remorse for his actions and pledged to regain the trust of Brian Ashton, the England head coach.

“Playing for England means absolutely everything to me and I am totally heartbroken not to be taking part in Saturday’s match against Scotland,” Cipriani said.

“It is a harsh punishment but I’ll take it on the chin and dwell on what I’ve done wrong. I have already learnt an extremely painful lesson for one brief moment of naivety. Rules are rules and I realise that popping into a nightclub — even though it was for barely 15 minutes — was not something I should have been doing.

“In my defence I would like to stress that I was only in the club to hand some tickets over to a good friend. At no time did I drink any alcohol, or do something silly like get into a fight or any form of trouble. I never intended to compromise my fitness regime and was tucked up in bed shortly after.

“All I can do now is try to win my place back because playing for England is the greatest honour in the game. Yes, I have made a mistake and I am truly sorry for that. But I hope I have not done something that cannot be forgiven by people in the game.”

However, Ashton, a former schoolmaster, decided that the 20-year-old back needed to be taught a lesson.

“I’ve taken the decision regarding Danny and the matter is now closed,” Ashton said. “I will keep an open mind on selecting him for future games.”

A spokesman for the RFU added that no further disciplinary action would be taken against Cipriani, who had been “warned and advised about his future conduct”.

Iain Balshaw, who had been dropped in Cipriani’s favour, has been restored to the full back position, with Charlie Hodgson, the Sale Sharks fly half, added to the replacements.

Lawrence Dallaglio, the former England No 8 and Cipriani’s captain at London Wasps, leapt to the player’s defence. “Clearly, on reflection, it was not ideal for him to have been there,” Dallaglio said. “But would a better option not have been to put an arm around him? Danny is going to be in the England team for many years and he needs to be educated by all of us.

“It is an overreaction, I believe, and I’m staggered but Brian has made his decision and that won’t change. He says he will be available next week. Hopefully he will be.”

Cipriani was also backed by Ian McGeechan, the director of rugby at Wasps. “We are hugely disappointed with the decision to withdraw Danny from the England team, and similarly disappointed for Danny himself,” McGeechan said. “Danny was pictured outside a nightclub, where he had gone in to see a friend. He did not stay in the nightclub for any length of time and he was not drinking.

“He was at worst naive in his actions, but no more than that. Given the circumstances, a measured response to his actions was required and I think this is a very harsh decision.”

Cipriani has been tipped for a bright career after a series of impressive displays for Wasps. Ashton has described him as the finest prospect he has seen and, after naming Cipriani in his squad to play in the RBS Six Nations Championship match at Murrayfield, Ashton said: “Danny has certainly got the X-factor. He’s an outstanding all-round footballer, is very confident, has got terrific pace and mentally he is ready.”

Although Cipriani’s preferred position of fly half is occupied by the near-untouchable Wilkinson, Ashton intended to give the youngster his first start in an England jersey at full back, where he has also played for his club.

The England team were released from their training base in Bath on Wednesday and told to spend a night in their own beds before flying to Scotland yesterday.

Cipriani frequently visits London nightclubs, although there has never been any suggestion of inappropriate drinking. He was romantically linked by the tabloid newspapers to Monica Irimia, half of the pop group the Cheeky Girls — although he has denied they had a relationship — and appeared in the News of the World last December after it was revealed that a model he had met in the Chinawhite nightclub was a transsexual.

A second club in Mayfair claimed that Cipriani had visited them earlier on Wednesday evening. “He was here with other rugby players,” a spokeswoman for Volstead, a club in Swallow Street, said, but she could not confirm the identity of any of the players and Cipriani issued a “100 per cent denial” through Wasps that he had been at any other club.

Cipriani spent yesterday training with Margot Wells, his sprint coach, and Wasps confirmed that they would consider selecting him for their home match against Harlequins on Sunday.

Wilkinson needs one point to become the leading points-scorer in international rugby after an IRB ruling yesterday that the 20 points he scored for the Lions against Argentina in 2005 would now have full international status.