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There was a period during Danny Care’s spell in the international wilderness where it almost felt awkward that he was not getting picked by England, so hot was his scorching form for Harlequins during their run to the Gallagher Premiership title in 2021. England squads came and went and Care’s name was nowhere to be seen. His performances certainly were not the reason.
It’s a credit to Care that he remained magnanimous about Eddie Jones despite the obvious pain of being overlooked to play for his country at a time when he was playing extraordinarily well. And then when Jones did recall Care at last for the 2022 summer tour of Australia - Jones’ reasoning was that the game had sped up and allowed Care “to play his natural game” - Care was then hooked 35 minutes into the third Test in Sydney. Jones was sacked later that year.
Care told the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast after Jones’ dismissal: “I do owe a lot to him, obviously I didn’t play for a few years under him but he also gave me my best moment in an England shirt [starting in 2016 against France to help England win the Grand Slam]. For me he’ll always be thought of highly in my thoughts as one of my greatest coaches I’ve ever worked with.” Not everyone in that situation would have been as kind.
Even those rough few years when Care was out of favour under Jones were not enough to deter him from wanting to play for his country. You could see how much it meant when he was named in Steve Borthwick’s Rugby World Cup squad. The 14 caps he added to his tally under Borthwick were described by Care in his statement as his happiest time in an England shirt. And Care during this recent spell has not just been some handy veteran in the squad; England have needed him. The pool game against Samoa at the Rugby World Cup was heading for disaster until Care’s timely intervention off the bench. He produced a vital try-saving tackle around the ankles of Samoa’s Neria Fomai at the death, having minutes earlier darted over by the posts to give England the lead in a game where they were running out of fingernails to gnaw on. Not bad for a then 36-year-old scrum-half.
Perhaps that stint in the Test wilderness in a roundabout way contributed to his longevity as a player, but it is worth wondering just how many more caps he might have won had his performances for Harlequins between 2019 until the summer of 2022 been sufficiently rewarded. Ben Youngs’ record of 127 caps as England’s most-capped men’s player would certainly be under threat.
No scrum-half has had a longer Test career than Care from their first to their last cap. New England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was five years old when Care made his England debut on the 2008 tour of New Zealand. Brad Thorn started for the All Blacks that day - he turns 50 next year.
He did well in a way to continue in an England shirt beyond the 2009 Six Nations, after a rather petulant penalty for charging into the back of Marcus Horan led to Care being sin-binned. Martin Johnson famously reacted by punching the chair in front of him. You can still make out the imprint of Johnson’s fist in that seat at Croke Park, probably.
Care played under four head coaches - Johnson, Stuart Lancaster, Jones and Borthwick - and went to three Rugby World Cups in 2011, 2015 and 2023. He never toured with the British and Irish Lions but had to be close in 2021 off the back of his play for Harlequins.
The 2016 Grand Slam game against France was also the fixture where he scored the greatest of his 15 England tries, spotting that Jefferson Poirot was too slow coming across to guard one side of the ruck and sniping clear to score at Stade de France. Fitting, really, given his career has been packed full of brilliant snipes around the fringes of rucks which have wrecked defences.
Not forgetting his part either in one of England’s great tries at Twickenham against Ireland, on the shoulder of his old Harlequins’ team-mate Mike Brown and racing away from Johnny Sexton and Brian O’Driscoll to score under the posts. Few England scrum-halves have provided more excitement.
Walking out with his children at Twickenham to mark a century of Test caps the other week will have meant everything to him. It was also richly deserved, for his perseverance as much as his talent. Many players had they been given the same treatment might have wondered if the door had closed on their chance to play for England again, yet Care’s hunger never wavered.
Danny Care’s commitment to England never wavered despite his questionable treatment
Care retires with 101 England caps despite suffering exile under Eddie Jones and refused to let his international career fizzle out