Six Nations 2018: Danny Care ready to renew 'friendly rivalry' with Ben Youngs in battle to be England's starting No 9
Harlequins star has had to play second fiddle to Youngs for the majority of Eddie Jones' tenure, but he stresses he's more than happy with his role just as long as he's involved
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Your support makes all the difference.When Conor O’Shea last week mischievously predicted England’s starting line up to face his Italy team this Sunday in Rome the only position he was undecided upon was scrum half.
“Youngs or Care,” O’Shea said, when he reached No 9, having rattled off the other 14 names without hesitation.
Perhaps there was some residual loyalty towards his former Harlequins lieutenant Care, 31, but it says everything about how little there is between the Leicester and Harlequins scrum-halves that a straw poll of England fans over should start would probably return a closer result than Brexit.
In recent times under Eddie Jones it has been Youngs who has generally got the nod, with his outstanding box kicking game thought to give him the narrowest of edges, although Care’s form off the bench last autumn and continued excellence for Quins since has seen him keep up an unrelenting pressure on his rival.
“A lot of people think Ben is better,” Care joked when asked why it was so hard to choose between them.
“It’s a great, friendly rivalry and whatever role I am asked to play in a team I will play. It’s the best team I’ve ever been involved in. I love pulling on an England shirt. Obviously everybody wants to start but I understand the importance of finishers. I enjoy that role as well.”
With 42 of his 76 caps to date coming off the bench, Care is accustomed to the “finisher” role given to substitutes by Jones.
Youngs, 28, has started 56 of the 75 appearances he has made in an England shirt but it is Care who edges his rival with 13 tries to 12, despite his relative lack of game time.
Care was electric last autumn, especially in England’s win over Australia at Twickenham, and it would be no surprise if he gets the nod to start against Italy next Sunday.
“Eddie puts a massive emphasis on it being a full squad effort and the importance of the finishers coming on to do just that; finish the game off,” he said.
“You do feel as important as the starters and he places a massive emphasis on that. The guys starting put in a hell of a shift to get you in position to win the game and then the finishers come on to increase the energy and momentum and hopefully kill teams off.
“Eddie has told me to keep doing what I’m doing and to keep working hard. He was happy with how I’d gone and just wants me to keep pushing on. He always says when you go back to your club show you’re an international player, standing out in games. Hopefully I’ve done that since the autumn.”
Despite England’s mounting injury-crisis – a problem shared by other nations, most notably Wales – O’Shea was right to reflect on the depth of talent at Jones’s disposal.
At least 14 potential starters may be unavailable through injury or suspension but a backline of Mike Brown, Anthony Watson, Jonny May, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, George Ford and Care or Youngs hardly screams “crisis”.
Victory over Italy, which should be a formality despite last season’s “no ruck” wobble at Twickenham, would be England’s 23rd in 24 matches under Jones, and set them up perfectly for an assault on an unprecedented third Grand Slam in succession.
Care added: “Since day one that Eddie took over we’ve talked about becoming the best team in the world and winning that World Cup. Nothing has changed. We have a lot of games to play and we have to keep improving every week but it’s always at the back of your mind that we’re doing all this to try and win the World Cup.”
Last week saw England’s players put through their paces by Jones and his back-room team on their warm-weather camp in the Algarve, Portugal.
The Australian has proved a brutal task masker since taking over with previous camps criticised for their intense physicality which have led to concerns over player welfare with a number of high-profile injuries.
“It’s hard but we can see why he does it,” Care said. “If we want to be the best team we have to train like that. The boys are willing to put the effort in to get the rewards.
“It is still fun. I love going into camp, training and playing for England. He puts a lot of emphasis on the players to drive stuff off the field and me and (hooker) Jamie George do a few things to keep the boys entertained. We work hard but enjoy it as well.”
For more information about Danny Care’s testimonial season in 2018 visit http://dannycaretestimonial.com/
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