ountry is picked ahead of you’
in my position before, when you
see guys come in like Brad Shields,
whether through the residency or
the grandmother. I had never been
pushed out because of someone
from another country. I had
probably been a bit naive to that
and just accepted it happens to
other people, felt sorry for them,
but thought that it would never
happen to me. But then when it
happens to you, it does sting. It
really hurts.”
Care still retains a faint hope that
fate could yet open the door for
him to return. “He [Jones] just said,
‘Stay sharp, stay ready, you never
know,’ ” he explained. “I know Ben
and Dan [Robson] have been in the
training squad ahead of me so I
don’t know if he will go for them orif something happened to one of
the nines then he would want a bit
more experience.”
The 32-year-old certainly knows
from bitter experience how injury
can strike, having been ruled out
of the 2011 World Cup in a
warm-up game. In 2015, Care was
included but only as third-choice
and his sole game time came
against Uruguay, by which time
England had been eliminated.
“In 2015 doing all the training
and being part of some of the worst
training camps I have ever been
involved in, being run into the
ground, thinking we could win the
World Cup and then not touching a
ball until we were out of the
tournament, it just felt like we had
wasted our time,” Care said. “I haveonly played one World Cup game
in 84 caps, which must be some
sort of record. And not a good one
to have.”
Under Stuart Lancaster, Care
was never told why he dropped
from first-choice to third-choice.
Jones has at least provided an
explanation and has since sat down
with Care to go over his reasoning.
“The one thing about Eddie is that
he has always been honest with
me,” Care said. “He has always said
why I am not playing and given me
a reason and things to work on.
With World Cup selection, he said I
was not sharp enough towards the
end of the season and he is going
with other people.”
Yet there is a world of difference
between receiving an explanation
and agreeing with it. Statistics
show that per 80 minutes, Care
scored more tries (0.63), made
more metres (29.9) and provided
more try assists (0.63) than any of
his English rivals in the Gallagher
Premiership last season. Care still
firmly believes that he can make a
difference, a view reinforced by
watching England labour to a 13-6
defeat against Wales.
“Watching the game at the
weekend, it felt like it was
screaming out for a change in that
second half and that’s something I
have done well for England in the
past years,” Care said. “Just
changing it up. If you watched the
game, I don’t think we were at our
attacking best. Sometimes you
need something a bit different to
come on and change in the game.
“Willi is a good player.
Gloucester had a good year. He is
maybe what they are looking for in
terms of adding a bit of control
coming on for Ben, but I think I
can provide that. I am probably
labelled as a different type of
player but I think I have enough
experience to control a game.
“Coming off the bench in the
past I feel I have added stuff to the
team. I completely respect Eddie’s
decision if he wants to go down a
different route to me.”
In truth, the writing had been on
the wall since Care was “rested” by
Jones for the tour to South Africa
last year. Recalled for the autumn
internationals, Care made a strong
impression coming off the bench
against New Zealand and South
Africa. Then came the match
against Japan in which he started
with a bang, scoring a trademark
try, only for the game to fall apart.
Care became the fall guy, having
thrown an intercept and kicked the
ball out at half-time with England
trailing. Though the England
coaches backed that decision, he
was dropped for the next match
against Australia. And with that the
door closed.
The silver lining has been in
spending the summer with his
wife, Jodie, and five-year-old son
Blake, who starts school in
September. Jodie is also due to give
birth to their second child two days
after the World Cup final.
“The time I have had with them
is invaluable,” Care said. “My wife
knows that I am loving being there
but as a professional rugby player I
would have loved the opportunity
to be out in Japan.”PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPHScrum-halves compared
Danny Care is
joining an
unrivalled Rugby
World Cup team
and will be
contributing to
The Telegraph
throughout the
tournament
Our expert line-up
Maggie Alphonsi
Danny Cipriani
Will Greenwood
Austin Healey
Sir Ian McGeechan
Brian Moore
Doddie Weir
Per 80-minute performance last season
D CareB SpencerB YoungsD RobsonW HeinzTries0.630.520.120.260.2729.929.415.629.417.9Try
Metres assists0.630.450.370.390.45The Daily Telegraph Thursday 22 August 2019 *** 11
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