'He's dropped in very easily': The England verdict on Care return

Richard Cockerill has explained how well veteran scrum-half Danny Care has fitted into the England squad this week following his shock recall by Eddie Jones four years after he was last capped at international level. The 35-year-old last featured against Japan in 2018 but he was named last Sunday in the 36-strong squad preparing to play the Barbarians at Twickenham next Sunday.

With Ben Youngs playing for Leicester in this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership final and Raffi Quirke unavailable because of injury, Care was chosen as one of three scrum-halves along with Alex Mitchell and Harry Randall.

Touted all season as one of the standout performers in the Premiership, the 84-cap Care has now got his chance to prove to Jones that he still has what it takes at England level and the midweek indications were that his involvement might not only be just for this week.

Assistant coach Cockerill outlined on Wednesday that the Harlequins player is not only in with a shout of touring Australia next month but he also would a consideration for the 2023 World Cup if he maintains his form.

“I think everybody is contention, everybody in this squad for the last week and a half are all in contention,” said Cockerill when initially asked about the chances of Care going to Australia with England. “Everybody will have the opportunity on Sunday to put their hand up to go on tour so there is no door closed. If people train well enough and play well enough and contribute to what we are doing, everybody is in the mix.”

The discussion was then widened to take in next year’s World Cup in France, by which stage Care will be 36, and again Cockerill wasn’t dismissing the veteran half-back’s chances of inclusion. “Definitely. If he is playing well enough and is playing better than anybody else young or old, then he will come into contention because World Cups are about having that balance, having enough caps of experience to be able to control and manage the pressure but also those young guys who are so hungry and compete and coming through.

“It gives you that real balance of experience, energy, enthusiasm and making sure we have that real balance in our group. I don’t think age will be a barrier, whether young or old. It will be picked on how well guys are playing.

“Danny is a competitor and he wants to compete - he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t have that focus to go to the World Cup. He is in great physical condition as a senior member of the squad so I would say he is very keen to compete for a spot.”

Cockerill further described how Care has fitted in with the England squad at Bagshot since last Sunday evening’s call-up. “He has been on great form for a little while now. He is full of energy and life. He is a good character and clearly a very good player so he is adding on and off the field, it has been really positive.

“He is very experienced, isn’t he? He has worked with Eddie before, he has worked with a lot of the guys that are in the squad now. He is a bright man, he picks things up very quickly. He is clearly a very instinctive player, he has dropped in very easily and training very well and being very good with the group.

“He has always been in England’s thoughts. He has been on great form for Quins. There are a lot of other good, young nines that have been brought through by Eddie and we have had Benny Youngs there as well. Danny has always been part of the selection conversation and Eddie thinks it is the right time to bring him back into the fold to help the group.”

While Care is training away with England, his Harlequins teammate Joe Marler wasn’t chosen this week. Cockerill, though, insisted that exclusion doesn’t mean he won’t be considered for the squad to tour Australia.

“We are looking at bringing some younger props through. Bevan Rodd has been on great form for Sale, we know what Joe can do and it is an opportunity in these two mini-camps going into this (Barbarians) game to see some other guys.

“Like I said, everybody is available. No decision has been made about who is going to Australia or not. Eddie will have a framework of what he thinks. When it comes to the pinch we will see who are the right people to take to build for the World Cup.”