Twelve months ago it was the hope that did for Danny Care. He had been in England exile for the best part of three years but his form had not been ignored by the British & Irish Lions head coach, Warren Gatland, to the extent that he received a letter confirming he was on their long list. When the squad was finally announced Care’s name was missing, however, and any chance of an international reprieve appeared to go with it.
It explains why after making his first England appearance since November 2018 against the Barbarians on Sunday, roughly 16 hours before Eddie Jones finalised his squad for the tour of Australia, Care was taking no chances.
