Fresh from receiving his England call-up from Martin Johnson, Harlequins’ scrum-half Danny Care looks back on the season…
Last day defeat to Leicester – close but no cigar…
Yeah it was disappointing not to make the top four, especially considering how we played against Leicester. But we set out to do better than last year and that meant top six – we done that.
You did well, especially considering your half-way slump?
Yeah we had a poor mid-season but it kind of came together when we changed the way we played. We just kind of made more emphasis on skills rather than tending to kick it a lot – rather than play boring rugby we just decided to throw it about a bit and play from anywhere on the field. We’ve got the players to play that way…
Did you realistically think you could reach the play-offs?
I think towards the end of the season we really believed we could do it – we beat Gloucester who were top, we beat Bath who were second, we ran Wasps away… At that point I did think ‘why not? Why can’t we challenge here?’
What happened against Leicester?
We missed a couple of chances to go further ahead – Will Skinner was caught short of the line and then knocked on and we had a couple of two on ones which we couldn’t finish and against Leicester you have to take your chances. We defended well but you just can’t give people like Tom Varndell any chances…
So basically it’s all Will Skinner’s fault?
Completely, 100 per cent…
You seem to have a good spirit at Quins, a lot of young players coming through…
Yeah we’ve got a great bunch of young lads playing for us, boys who played together in the under-20s. Players like Jordan Turner-Hall have had awesome seasons, it’s nice playing with your mates too and I think we really gelled this season…
This is a side that can get better then?
I think we’ve got a really nice mix of youth and experience here so I don’t know we can challenge for the top four. We were in the top four with about three minutes left in the season.
What did Dean Richards say after the Leicester game?
He couldn’t fault any of our efforts, Leicester just they nicked it in the end…
Disappointed to see your old club Leeds go down?
I was a bit gutted for Leeds. I’ve still got a few mates down there so I wanted them to stay up. Hopefully they’ll get a few good signings and bounce back next year.
What do you think the problem was with them this year?
I think it was because there weren’t any sort of big name signings. It was maybe due to money or whatever, but you need some big players for the other guys to bounce off and they didn’t have that. Stuart Lancaster is a great coach, he just to have a few more quality players.
Do you think Leeds can maintain a Premiership side?
Definitely – they can definitely sustain one. I just hope they come back and stay up and don’t just keep going up and down.
You’ve done well this year, better than expected?
My aim was to try and get a couple of games, maybe play regular in the Premiership to try and get the No.9 shirt. I’m thankful that Dean gave me the chance of an extended run in the side…
Especially since you had an England scrum-half in front of you…
Yeah, I’ve been behind Gomars for two years now and I’ve really learned a lot from him – and Steve So’oialo too. I really respect them and it’s kind of helped me develop watching them play too.
Any friction caused by you taking Gomars place with club and country?
Not at all, we get on really well, over the past couple of games he was really spurring the team on and giving me little tips – he’s a really good role model to learn from.
The England call must have been good?
I was delighted to get call – it wasn’t expected at all, so I was well chuffed.
How did you find out?
Sky Sports news! I turned it on, and the squad flashed up! I then noticed I had a few missed calls and texts from parents and friends.
So you didn’t hear from RFU?
No, I think Martin Johnson gave everyone a call later on to say well done.
What was it like when you did get the call?
It was a bit strange, he’s now the most famous person in my phone book! Yeah it was weird, but I’m really looking forward to working with him…
New Zealand for a debut tour…
I know you couldn’t ask for a better and more interesting place to play or team to play against – it’s going to be special. It would be a dream come true to face the haka and to play a Test match would be amazing…
What’s your season highlight?
I think probably getting the call-up for England – that was a very special day. Just being able to play rugby has been good though, I’ve loved every minute of it…
And the lowlight?
I think the feeling when the final whistle went against Leicester.
Funniest moment?
Can’t think of any one moment… although the end of season fancy dress the other day was funny, we were all dressed up as wrestlers.
Who did you go as?
I was the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels…
Any good fights?
Erm, there was good match between Hulk Hogan [Chris Robshaw] who took on Hackshaw Jim Duggan [Alex Rogers].
Who won?
Hulk Hogan. It was good fight but the Hulk just sneaked it.
Any good moves on show?
The Undertaker [Nick Easter] did a few choke holds – he took on everyone and used the choke hold to deal with them…
Next season you’ve got Nick Evans…
Yeah I think everyone is really looking forward to him arriving. He’s going to bring a fresh approach to the squad.
Was it a surprise when he signed?
Yeah, we didn’t know. There were a few rumours about us getting a new ten with Jarvo leaving but that said Nick Evans was the strongest name mentioned so maybe it wasn’t that much of a surprise…
It says a lot about Quins…
Definitely, it shows the way we’re going and that, with Nick joining us, he sees great potential.
Know of any other signings?
I’m not sure, obviously Epi Taione’s coming and he’ll add something extra.
Got a couple of weeks just off before England, then England stuff off to New Zealand…
What you up to now until the tour?
I’ve got to do a bit of training to keep fit for the Barbarians game. Other than that just got to try and switch off and relax….