CARE HAS RACKED UP A TON OF GOODWILL
Danny in line for 100th cap and is reminded of his youth report
DANNY CARE was given a blast from the past as he prepares to win his 100th England cap against Ireland at Twickenham today.
Assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth was handed Care’s report from the Leeds academy nearly 20 years ago at last week’s training camp in York. Wigglesworth used the report as the centrepiece of a presentation to the scrum-half on Thursday night to celebrate his century. And Care, on the bench this afternoon, reckons the report was spot on and still applied to his game today as a 37-year-old veteran who made his Test debut 16 years ago in New Zealand. He said: “It was strangely similar to what is still true now. Wiggy got handed it in York and was asked to give it to me. But he said, ‘There’s no way I’m giving it to him yet. I’m going to have some fun first’.
“He did a little bit of a montage of good and bad bits from my career. I think the report said, ‘He lacks a bit of physicality, box-kicking is slightly inconsistent’. I’d say, 18 years later, it’s still the same.
“The cool line at the end of it was ‘future England player’.
“There was also, ‘He tries a bit too much and makes a few mistakes. but he’ll have a crack’.
“Wiggy had a bit of fun with that and it’s come full circle. I’m still quite similar, I’d say.”
Care thought his international days were over when he was dropped by Eddie Jones in 2018 and left on the shelf for three and a half years. He returned for the 2022 Australia tour, only to be axed again by Jones before being handed a reprieve by Steve Borthwick ahead of the World Cup.
Care will be making his 57th appearance off the bench but in the days of finishers and impact players is not fazed by not starting.
He will have wife Jodie and children Blake, Koha and Rocco in the crowd with his parents, brother and sister. Care will become the sixth English male centurion and will probably be collared by the first, Jason Leonard, for a few beers afterwards.
“I’ve got three kids now,” he added. “As a parent you want to inspire your kids and if they can maybe have a look at my career and go, ‘Dad didn’t give up, he kept trying’, then maybe there’s a message there for them to believe in yourself and keep going.”