Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care's recall to the England squad after four years out could see him earn a chance of touring Australia this summer and even being part of the Rugby World Cup in 2023; watch England's three-Test series against Australia live on Sky Sports
Wednesday 15 June 2022 14:21, UK
Richard Cockerill believes Danny Care is capable of putting himself in contention for a place in England's squad for next year's Rugby World Cup following his recall to the national team.
The experienced Harlequins scrum-half was called up for the first time since 2018 by head coach Eddie Jones to be part of the squad for this Sunday's match against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
A strong showing against the star-studded invitation side could see Care, who turned 35 in January, force his way into the reckoning for this summer's three-Test tour of Australia, but forwards coach Cockerill did not rule out the possibility of him heading to France for next year's World Cup either.
"Danny is a competitor and wants to compete and he wouldn't be here if he didn't have that focus to go to the World Cup," Cockerill said.
"He's in great physical condition, even as a senior member of the squad, so I would say he's eager to compete for a place in the squad.
"If he's playing well enough and playing better than anybody else, young or old, then he'll come into contention. 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 coming through and competing.
"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 wants to compete and he wouldn't be here if he didn't have that focus to go to the World Cup.
Care had originally been due to play for the Barbarians against England this weekend and was due to head to Monaco with Fabien Gathie's squad for a training camp before being notified of his recall by Jones.
The 84-cap international returns to the fold with Ben Youngs, England's most-capped player and a mainstay in the No. 9 shirt during Jones' reign as head coach, unavailable due to being involved with Leicester Tigers' Gallagher Premiership final against Saracens the day before the clash with the Baa-Baas.
Bristol Bears' Harry Randall (six caps) and Northampton Saints' Alex Mitchell (one cap) are the two other scrum-halves in the squad for England's final match before departing for their summer tour but are still very much at the start of their international careers.
Cockerill is in no doubt Care's experience will therefore prove invaluable during this period and for however long he remains part of Jones' squad afterwards and is pleased with how quickly he has settled back into the national set-up.
"He's very experienced, isn't he?" Cockerill said. "He's worked with Eddie and a lot of the guys who are in the squad before.
"He's a bright man, he picks things up very quickly and he's clearly a very instinctive player, so he's dropped in very easily, is training very well and being very good with the group.
"I think he's always been in England's thoughts. He's been on good form for Quins, there are a lot of young nines who have been brought through by Eddie and we've had Ben Youngs there as well.
"Danny has always been part of the selection conversation and Eddie thinks it's the right time to bring him back into the fold to help the group."
