It will not be long before Danny Cipriani is worth his weight in gold to London Wasps. Tony Copsey, the chief executive, admitted as much yesterday when he indicated how vital the Cipriani factor is to the club’s commercial and marketing strategy. “Danny is taking rugby to a new market,” Copsey said. “He is a celebrity foremost and almost a rugby player second.”

It may not be what the player or his advisers want to hear, given the lengths to which they have gone collectively to play down his playboy image since his recovery from a serious ankle injury. But Copsey’s comment was not an indictment of the player’s lifestyle, rather a pragmatic acceptance that he is big news, which can translate into big business opportunities, and that in Cipriani, Wasps have a valuable asset.

No doubt his pulling power as a player and the value of his intellectual property and image rights will be a matter for serious negotiation when Wasps attempt to tie down the 20-year-old to a new contract, ideally before Christmas. His present deal, worth just under £100,000 a year, ends this season and he is open to offers from January. Wasps know that they will have to act quickly in talks with the player’s legal representatives from Harbottle & Lewis. In the club’s favour is their proximity to London.

Cipriani, as Lawrence Dallaglio was before him, is already synonymous with Wasps. His is the face everyone wants to see and the first evidence of such magnetism will be in the build-up to the Heineken Cup tie against Leinster on January 17. The meeting between the champions of the Guinness Premiership and the Magners League, which may be pivotal in pool two, is being moved from Adams Park, High Wycombe, to Twickenham to cope with the expected demand.

Referring to the training ground punch-up with Josh Lewsey last week, Copsey said that Wasps were fortunate to have big-name personalities who garnered publicity. He added light-heartedly: “Obviously in the lead-up to this game we will have Danny fighting in clubs and streaking in the streets to get as much publicity.” Wasps are budgeting for a crowd of 30,000 at Twickenham, the equivalent in income terms of more than four home games. Although they struggle to sell out Adams Park, they have recognised that there is a large if splintered groundswell of support, as indicated by the world-record club crowd for last season’s Premiership grand final. “We are showing ambition with this,” Copsey said. “Wasps are not in a position to sit still.”

Before attention can turn to the match in the new year, however, Wasps have to front up in Dublin in the first meeting against Leinster on Saturday. Wasps improved against Castres on Sunday, but will rue the lack of a winning bonus point. “We definitely moved a step forward because the occasion demanded it and the competition demands it,” Ian McGeechan, the director of rugby, said.

What was significant was the part played by the experienced players, among them Phil Vickery, who is enjoying an Indian summer to his career free of injury and responsibility and making the most of the second chance Wasps gave him two years ago, when he seemed destined for the scrapheap after back injuries.

It does not mean, though, that his desire has dimmed or his passion for England and the pride he takes in leading his country. “More than ever I am enjoying my rugby,” Vickery, who is also busy developing his leisure and sportswear company, said. “You can lose track of what is important. I have a beautiful wife, two beautiful children and I love what I do. I’ve been here for two years and won two trophies. Sometimes you have to step back and realise how lucky you are. Every time I get my boots on is a bonus.

“This place is a very special club. There are some brilliant people here. Without that chance, I honestly don’t know what I would be doing. When people deliver on their promises and stick to their word and treat you as a real person, it is special. You don’t find that often now. People are usually looking to stab you in the back.”

The Heineken Cup final will be played at Murrayfield, in Edinburgh, on May 23, it was confirmed yesterday. More than 20,000 tickets have already been sold.