ENGLAND legend Danny Care believes the “sky is the limit” for the national side
England rugby legend Danny Care, with 101 caps, believes the "sky is the limit" for the national team. Reflecting on his career, Care emphasizes England's potential for success and discusses his plans to finish his career with Harlequins, highlighting his loyalty to the club.
Table of Contents
Care called time on his illustrious international career while playing for his country during this year’s Six Nations campaign.
And with 101 caps to his name and 15 years of loyal service, the respected scrum-half knows what’s needed to succeed against the best teams in the world.
“I think the more times you do it, and you beat those big teams, the more belief it gives you that you can mix it with the very best,” stressed Care, a three-time Six Nations’ winner.
“I think they’ve [England] got the team, the coaches and the environment now to be successful. The sky is the limit.
We need the consistency now to make that next level and to be winning titles.
Danny Care
England stunned defending champions Ireland with a breathtaking 23-22 victory at Twickenham in this year’s Six Nations and came within a whisker of beating France, narrowly edged 33-31 in Paris
They also beat Italy (27-24) and Wales (16-14), but a shock 30-21 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield showed there are problems which need fixing as well.
“Obviously the Scotland performance stands out, that wasn’t us and I think we were really disappointed with that result,” admitted Care, who famously won the Grand Slam with England in 2016.
“But it’s in those games where you’re not quite fully on it where you still need to find a way to win.
“We could have still won that Scotland game even though the performance was poor. It’s about turning those games into wins.
“We need to get that winning mentality.”
Image Credits: Warren Little/Getty Images
England face Japan on Saturday 22nd June in their first international match of the summer at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, followed by two test matches away to New Zealand (6thand 13th July respectively)
“It’s going to be fascinating playing two amazing teams, it will be a really good mark of where this England team is at,” added Care.
“But I’m confident they’re going to win all of them [matches], I really think they will.”
Care might have hung up his international boots, but the 37-year-old revealed he turned down lucrative offers to play in France – and instead opted to finish his career with Harlequins
“I’ve signed a new deal with Quins, I’ve got one more year with them,” he said.
“There was a bit of interest from teams in France, it’s pretty mad how they do business over there.
“But I always to stay at the club, I’d like to finish my career than. I’m looking forward to doing that.
“Loyalty is massive. Quins have also been loyal to me, so I’m showing them loyalty back I’ll be very proud to finish there.
“It will be my 19th year next year, so it’s been a long time. I need to go and do something else after that.”
Harlequins Director of Rugby Billy Millard saluted Care for his distinguished career and said: “We’re incredibly proud of Danny and everything he has achieved for England
“He’s been the ultimate professional for the past 15 years and worked extremely hard to fight his way back to achieve 101 caps. It’s a huge testament to his character, hard work and professionalism and we congratulate him on a fantastic England career and look forward to his continued impact at Quins.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.