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Super sub Danny Care on his England try and win-saving tackle
Veteran scrum-half Danny Care has reflected on his pivotal 14-minute Rugby World Cup cameo off the England bench on Saturday, scoring the converted try that got England 18-17 in front on 73 minutes and then making his win-protecting tackle on Neria Fomai just metres from the try line with 75 seconds remaining.
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England had already qualified for their October 15 quarter-final in Marseille as Pool D winners with a game to spare, but their winning run going into the knockout stages was very nearly derailed in a dramatic contest in Lille where Samoa were the better team and would have been deserving winners if they didn’t let slip the lead they commendably held for 44 minutes.
Such was the level of England’s struggle that even skipper Owen Farrell was inexplicably timed out on the shot clock with his team trailing 11-17.
However, with Samoa soon suffering a Tumua Manu yellow card for an incident involving Farrell, the numerical advantage was exploited when Care waltzed in by the posts with possession snapped up from a scrum near the line.
“I was itching to get on,” he beamed in the aftermath. “I thought I was going to go on a bit earlier but then they made a couple of backline changes and when you are the last back, you know you’re not going to get an awful lot of time.
“But I just wanted to get on and help. You want to play in these big games. You never know how many you have got left in you at my age,” he said.
“It was one of those moments I didn’t think I would get again. I missed playing for England but scoring a try and making big plays for your country, that’s why we are all here.
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“That is what we want to do. From being a little boy, that has been the dream and I’m still here now, trying to do it. It wasn’t an amazing performance from us but we are really proud of how we dug in and found a way to win. I’m just delighted to be part of that.”
England wouldn’t have been celebrating a victory if Care had perfectly timed his 78th-minute cover run which successfully chased down Fomai and prevented the Samoan winger from scoring the winning try.
“Kev (Sinfield, defence coach) always says defence shows your attitude and how much you care for the team,” explained the replacement No9.
“I thought the boys put their bodies on the line against some big, big men all night. When you come off the bench you have got to help out where you can. George Ford set the tone for that in the first half, chasing back and making that try-saver. Ollie Lawrence made a big one too.
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“When people make breaks, you have got to do your best to get back and do your best to stop them. It is all a bit of a blur, to be honest. I just remember running back and thinking, ‘I’ve got to make this’, especially after I’ve done an Alan Shearer celebration after scoring a try. You can’t not make that tackle but I’m pleased I could just help the team.”
Having started the September 23 rout of Chile, Samoa was the second time at the finals that Care had come off the England bench as he was also their sub No9 the first day versus Argentina.
With England now set to play against in Marseille five weeks after that opening weekend win at the Velodrome, does Care now fancy his chances to getting a start ahead of Alex Mitchell?
“I don’t mind, honestly! We all want to play as much as we can but whatever role they ask me to do, I am more than happy to do it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments