The international scrum-half who won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne, was Yorkshire-born Daniel ‘Danny’ Care. Care was named in the England Sevens core squad for the 2005/06 International Rugby Board (IRB) World Sevens Series and, subsequently, in Team England for the Commonwealth Games, which were officially declared open by Queen Elizabeth II on March 15, 2006.
At the Telstra Dome, Melbourne, Team England won all three Group C matches, against Cook Islands, Sri Lanka and Australia, beat Samoa 17-14 in the quarter-final and Fiji 21-14 in the semi-final, before succumbing 29-21 to New Zealand in the gold medal match. Care and his teammates collected silver medals, thereby becoming the first England players to win medals, of any description, in Rugby Sevens at the Commonwealth Games.
Having already made his mark on the international stage, Care made his senior international debut for a second-string England side against the Barbarians at Twickenham om June 1, 2008, coming on as a second-half replacement for Richard Wigglesworth. He made his Test debut against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland two weeks later, once again replacing Wigglesworth in the second half.
Thereafter, Care became a regular member of the England and went on to become one of the most-capped scrum-halves in the history of the national team, with a total of 87 caps. He made his last Test appearance in a 35-15 victory over Japan at Twickenham on November 17, 2018, scoring the opening try after just two minutes. However, over three years later, at the age of 35 – and thanks, in no small part, to his scintillating form for his club, Harlequins – Care was a surprise inclusion in the 36-strong England training squad for a ‘non-cap’ international against the Barbarians at Twickenham on June 19, 2022. Named on the bench on matchday, he replaced vice-captain Harry Randall during a 21-52 defeat by a 14-man Barbarians side.