Danny Care shuns French offers to stay in England

Danny Care is set to end speculation on his future by signing a one-year deal to extend his career with Harlequins and turn his back on a final payday by moving to France, where he has been attracting interest from clubs.

The 37-year-old, who has made a record 369 appearances for Quins, announced earlier this week that he was retiring from international rugby after winning 101 caps in a 15-year international career.

The veteran scrum-half has been linked with moves to Bayonne, and most recently, Perpignan. The Catalans had him on a list of four players they were tracking, along with Leo Carbonneau, Jake Gordon and Ali Price.

Johan Grobbelaar on Leinster challenge

Johan Grobbelaar on Leinster challenge

Care, who has won three Six Nations championships,  joined Jason Leonard, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Dan Cole in playing 100 games for England when he featured off the bench in the win over Ireland earlier this month.

The Leeds-born scrum-half turned to rugby after being released by the Sheffield Wednesday FC academy and he moved to Harlequins in 2006, helping them win a European Challenge Cup in 2011 and two Premiership titles.

His family is settled in Surrey, where his wife Jodie works as a lawyer, and uprooting their three young children to France would have been a big wrench.

Harlequins rugby director Billy Millard admitted earlier this week that the club were hopeful Care would start a 19th season at the Twickenham Stoop.

“Danny has some decisions to make, and we left him alone during the Six Nations. But we are all very hopeful we can get there shortly. It would be an awesome thing for him to end his career here,” he said.