Danny Care Joins NEC Harlequins for Three Years

By Prof
May 17 2006

Danny Care is the latest addition to the NEC Harlequins squad for the 2006/7 season, Quins having beaten Saracens (amongst others) in the race for his signature.

Care is a natural footballer, quite literally in fact, he was invited to join the Sheffield Wednesday FC Academy when he was 11, he carried on playing rugby at Prince Henry's Grammar School in Otley, helping them win the Yorkshire U13 Cup in 2000, after breaking his leg the following season he was collecting more silverware when he won the Yorkshire U15 Cup, the same year when he left the football academy and chose rugby as his career.

In the 2002/3 season he was selected for Yorkshire and the North of England before winning his first England Cap at U16 level when he played against Wales at Neath.

The 2003/4 season saw him leave Otley and join the Leeds Tykes Academy where he was named the Players' Young Player of the Year, and when Tykes won the National U19 Colts Cup. In the same year he helped his school win the Yorkshire U18 Cup and the Daily Mail U18 Vase at Twickenham (he had a personal tally of 13 points in the 18-11 win over St Columba's College, St Albans). He ended the season having played in the U18 Four Nations competition and receiving a place on the bench in the England U19 team against Ireland.

In 2004/5 he made his first appearance for Leeds Tykes, coming on as a replacement in the second half in the pre-season friendly against Exeter Chiefs. He continued to play for England U19 and was also selected for the England 7s side (alongside fellow Quin Jordan Turner-Hall) who came second in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo, Australia.

Care's first competitive appearance for Tykes was against VRAC in the European Challenge Cup, it was going well to start with - he had scored a try and kicked three conversions before he broke his leg after just 23 minutes. Even with this injury Tykes gave him his first professional contract in December 2004. This injury combined with a knee injury meant that he missed the IRB U19 World Championship in South Africa, although fellow Quins James Inglis, Alex Rogers did play in the tournament.

Brian Ashton selected Care as a member of the Junior National Academy for the 2005/6 season as one of the best 16-18 year olds in the country - Jordan Turner-Hall was also selected. Justin Marshall joined Leeds Tykes for the 2005/6 season and Care was seen as third choice until a pre-season injury sidelined second choice scrum half, Mark McMillan (who has just been signed by London Wasps), allowed Care his Guinness Premiership debut at Vicarage Road when he replaced Marshall late in the game. He scored his first senior try a few weeks later in the Powergen Cup against Sale and was named man of the match against Newcastle Falcons.

He was also one of the three newcomers to be named in the senior England 7s squad along with one of Quins' other new signings - Dave Strettle. He made his debut in Wellington and played again in Los Angeles, he was also selected for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and won another silver medal to add to his Commonwealth Youth Games silver.

He played in the 2006 U19 6 Nations and scored two tries in the game against Scotland at The Stoop and he travelled to Dubai to take part in the U19 RWC (alongside Jordan Turner-Hall). This is where most people would probably have seen him first, he had a storming game against South Africa scoring a second half try in a game that England won 45-18. In the 3/4 place play off he showed his versatility by replacing Daniel Cipriani at fly half. Again he played well and again he scored a second half try in a game that England 'won' 12-12 (because they scored 2 tries to 0). This left England with their highest placing at U19 level ever - 3rd.

Care on Justin Marshall: "Justin's the best scrum-half in the world and whenever I want to ask him or show him something he has the time, we've done quite a bit on my passing and my mentor Mike Friday [the England Sevens coach] also helps me a lot with that."

Brian Ashton [RFU academy manager] on Care: "I first saw him playing for the U16s and he's got better and better as time's gone on. He has a pretty high skill level, and has great speed and game awareness. He's not lost anything in terms of speed and agility despite the injuries; he's still running around as elusively as ever."

Mike Friday [England 7s Coach] on Care: "The three new caps have been impressive in training this week. Danny Care is a very talented up and coming young scrum half who has been playing well for Leeds Tykes and I am looking forward to seeing how he copes with international sevens.  It will be a good test for all three of these young players to be taken out of the comfort zone of their clubs and put into the hostile environment of Wellington. Sevens will test their core skills, and we will be able to examine how they cope when there is no hiding place on the pitch. The 33,000 crowd in Wellington is a harsh environment for all the players and the tournament will test their mind set as well as their ability to cope in a different climate after a long journey with an eleven hour time difference. With 30,000 people all cheering for the opposition it will be the biggest crowd Danny has ever faced, as well as having to compete against some of the world’s quickest players. Danny is one of the most exciting young talents I have seen. He needs to be allowed to keep developing as a player and if he does I have no doubt that he will be playing for England in the very near future. Danny burst onto the scene via the JNA and has an immense amount of potential. He is a great footballer and very exciting to watch. We feel that he will benefit from being involved in the intense environment of the sevens. Not only will he learn more about life on the pitch and what's expected of him as a player, but by being in unfamiliar environments we will see how he copes mentally off the pitch as well."

Simon Amor [England 7s Captain] on Care: "I am incredibly impressed by Danny.  I have watched him play a few times and honestly believe he will be playing for England very, very soon.  People forget how young he is as he plays as if he has been playing for years.  I can’t wait to see him play international sevens. Sometimes in training Danny will look across to me and say well done. I can hardly believe it as it should be me praising him.  He hasn’t yet played sevens for England and I can hardly wait to see him take to the field here tomorrow.  He is an extremely talented player and has fitted into the squad very quickly. Given his natural ability and position I am sure he has a fantastic and long England career ahead of him sooner rather than later."

Dean Richards on Care: "There is no question that Danny is one of the most exciting young players in England at present, so to have secured his services for three years is a great boost for the club. His battle with Steve So'oialo for the number nine jersey next season will be fascinating and I'm sure will provide the coaching team with a great selection headache."

I'd like to welcome Danny to Quins and wish him all the best for his time with us.