CARE: WE’LL PROVE IT’S NOT A TWO-TIER PREM
Ryder Cup hero still on form
DANNY CARE is out to prove English rugby does not have a two-tier Premiership – by giving the champions another bloody nose.
Top-dogs Saracens go to Care’s Harlequins tomorrow looking untouchable, having made history as the first club to begin a top-flight campaign with five bonus-point victories. And
TOMMY FLEETWOOD isn’t feeling a Ryder Cup hangover after picking up where he left off in Paris to shoot more good golf.
with Exeter, runners-up last season, five points clear of third-placed Wasps, there are fears the league is already a two-horse race.
But Care believes Quins can change all that when Saracens head across London to confront their bogey team.
The England star said: “I see why people are talking about a two-tier division, but we have beaten Saracens at home for the last three years.
“While we respect how good they are, we know we can cause them problems.
“We’re London rivals and there’s no love lost between us, in part due to jealousy that they’ve won so much and we haven’t won anything for a while.
“So when we play them we raise our game. They don’t seem to like us, we don’t seem to like them.”
Saracens’ England lock George Kruis admits Quins have “managed to get under our skins a bit” in matches at the Stoop. He added: “A few years back we had too much emotion going there. We let that affect us and it’s something we must control.” But he insists Sarries are determined to “push the boundaries of where we’re going”. That is a worry for a league in which alarm bells are ringing after fourthplaced Bath fielded virtually a second team at Sarries to save their stars for a ‘more winnable’ home game tonight against Exeter.
“I was rotating players and refreshing the squad,” said Bath boss Todd Blackadder, who makes 13 changes. “But I was preparing for what is ahead. It polarised opinions, but the Premiership is tough and hopefully it pays off.”
Danny Cipriani (left), dropped by England a fortnight ago, has been named Premiership Player of the Month for September.