Danny Care will pull on an England jersey for the first time in four years after being named in Eddie Jones’s 36-man squad for the match against the Barbarians on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Harlequins scrum-half played the last of his 84 Tests in November 2018, scoring two tries in a 35-15 win over Japan. But as Jones prepared for his charge to the 2019 World Cup, he deemed Care surplus to requirements, selecting Ben Youngs as his primary No 9 with the inexperienced Willi Heinz, and then Ben Spencer, serving as deputies.
However, after a successful period with his club, which has seen him score 19 tries in two years as well as lift the 2020-21 Premiership title, Care’s efforts have been rewarded. Only Courtney Lawes has more international experience in the squad. And with Youngs busying himself with a Premiership final for Leicester against Saracens the day before, Care is a likely starter against the famous travelling club.
“This is a strong, diverse squad,” Jones said of a group that includes 10 uncapped players with London Irish’s flying winger, Henry Arundell, among them. “There are a lot of exciting, young players and some experienced ones who have another opportunity to shine. Everyone will be given the chance to make their case for being part of the Australia tour squad while we prepare for the Barbarians.”
England head down under next month for a three-Test series against the Wallabies. It will be their first tour to Australia in six years. Back in 2016 Jones oversaw a Dylan Hartley-led team claim a 3-0 sweep with Owen Farrell ending the series with 66 points.
Like Youngs, Farrell will not take part in what is in effect a warm-up game after orchestrating a 34-17 semi‑final win for Saracens over Harlequins on Saturday. Farrell’s head was split open during the contest but ultimately he won his battle with Marcus Smith, who joins Care and Joe Marchant in swapping their motley-coloured Harlequins gear for the all-white of England.
It was Ben Earl’s hat-trick that cemented Saracens’ win and a place in a Premiership final in their first season back in the top flight. With a bloody bandage above his eyes, Farrell was eager to shake off the ignominy of the salary-cap scandal that saw Saracens relegated to the Championship in 2020.
“We are trying to live now, put everything we can into now,” Farrell said after the win at the StoneX Stadium. “People still talk about it and we’ve been back nearly a year. We’ve put our best foot forward and tried to win games of rugby week after week and are glad to be back in another final.”
Another absentee from Jones’ squad is Maro Itoje who similarly played down the impact of time in the hinterlands. He did, however, admit that watching Exeter and Harlequins lift the league title in his club’s absence spurred the players on. “More grease to the elbow,” was his response when asked how it felt being a spectator to glory over the past two seasons.
Itoje, Farrell and their Saracens teammates will take on a Leicester side that did not budge from top spot in the league throughout the campaign.
Their 27-14 win over Northampton was plucked straight from the Steve Borthwick coaching manual. A dominant pack laid a platform for George Ford who proved his class when given front-foot ball.
Two pragmatic fly-halves will meet on Saturday at England’s home of rugby. A day later, a younger, more enigmatic No 10 will wear the red rose. The man tasked with feeding him the ball is out to prove he can still cut it at this level.
