Care 'incredibly blessed' as Harlequins edge Exeter in his final home game
Danny Care said he felt "incredibly blessed with what I've achieved" as Harlequins marked his final home game before retirement with a hard-fought 24-22 English Premiership win over Exeter on Sunday.
Care, 38, was introduced as a 64th-minute replacement at the Stoop when his side trailed by one point but a late penalty from England fly-half Marcus Smith sealed victory for Harlequins.
Former England scrum-half Care announced Tuesday he would retire from rugby at the end of this season.
Care won 101 caps for England over 16 years and called time on his international career after last year's Six Nations.
He featured at two Rugby World Cups and was a member of England's Grand Slam-winning team of 2016, also lifting Six Nations titles in 2011 and 2017.
Care has played nearly 400 times for London club Harlequins, winning the Premiership twice and the Challenge Cup in 2011.
He is also Quins' all-time leading appearance-maker in the professional era.
"I came here as a 19-year old, so I'm incredibly blessed with what I've achieved," said Care after Sunday's match.
"I owe this club so much as they've stuck by me through thick and thin with the crowd singing my name loudly which is far more than I deserve."
He added: "I haven't cried in years but I've cried about 20 times this week."
Harlequins coach Danny Wilson said: "Danny has had a phenomenal career with close to 400 games. He is a top bloke and a true Quins legend and I don't think his feats will be repeated again."
Cadan Murley, Will Porter and Smith scored Harlequins' tries, with Smith converting all three and landing what proved to be a decisive penalty.
Tommy Wyatt, Rus Tuima and Stu Townsend scored Exeter's tries with Henry Slade adding two conversions and a penalty.
This may have been Exeter's 13th defeat in 17 Premiership matches his season but boss Rob Baxter was encouraged by way his the southwest side competed against Quins.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
5 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
ICC honours SA icons Smith, Amla as Proteas eye World Test Championship glory
Two of South Africa's best have been recognised as Hall of Fame members following incredible careers. Against the backdrop of South Africa's World Test Championship (WTC) final bid at Lord's against Australia, two icons of South Africa's cricket team from a previous era were recognised as icons of the game. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla were inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame on Monday night at Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded most of their discography. It was a sweet tune sung by master of ceremony Ian Bishop, waxing lyrical about the seven inductees who apart from Smith and Amla included legends Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni, Daniel Vettori, Sana Mir and Sarah Taylor. Abbey Road Studios is a 15-minute walk from Lord's Cricket Ground, a walk that includes the famous Abbey Road crossing where the picture of the Beatles' acclaimed 1969 album was taken. While the area is rich in music history in St John's Wood, South Africa's cricketing record in the area is fine, too. Lord's is where Smith, with Amla as his anchor, claimed the Test mace in 2012 against England. Amla scored a second-innings century to help South Africa to a 51-run victory and 2-0 series win over the old foes. Now, 13 years later, they have been recognised as two of the finest cricketers to have played the game, and will be in attendance at Lord's hoping to see their compatriots hold the Test mace up once again. 'Honoured' Amla's record in one-day international cricket is as exemplary as his Test record, with 8,113 runs in the 50-over format in only 181 matches — the third most runs for South Africa in the format. 'It's unbelievable really,' Amla said after being inducted. 'Knowing all the great cricketers that have been included in the hall of fame, it's pretty unreal. 'I don't think you ever see yourself as someone worthy of being included among these guys. I'm really honoured.' In Test cricket, Amla was equally dominant, scoring 9,282 runs in 124 matches at an average of 46.64. While Smith was exceptional as an opening batter, having scored 9,265 runs in 117 matches, his ability as a captain is what has made him widely revered. Smith led the country in 109 Tests and won 53 of them. The broad-chested Smith admitted to knowing about his induction into the highest honours of the game for a few weeks prior to the day. 'I've known for like two months now,' the former skipper said. 'It's been quite a weird, surreal feeling. 'I'm immensely proud, I got a bit croaky on stage when you look back at some of the things and think about it. You give a lot and you share a lot with a lot of amazing people along the way.' Smith and Amla's careers overlapped, and they spent a large part of their time on the cricket field playing either with or against each other. 'We played about 70 Tests together,' Smith said. 'Hash and I are the same age, we played against each other at school. 'There are lots of great memories, lots of great partnerships.' Smith and Amla join Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers from that 2012 side to have joined the ICC Hall of Fame, a side that is widely regarded as the country's best ever. The current crop of Proteas will be hoping to emulate the performances of that side in their quest for Test match glory at Lord's. DM
TimesLIVE
7 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Markram makes key breakthrough after Australia dominate session
The dismissal of Steve Smith — a bonus wicket for Aiden Markram — helped the Proteas keep their noses in front at tea on the opening day of the World Test Championship final against Australia on Wednesday. South Africa's bowlers struggled to maintain the standards they'd set in the first session at Lord's, allowing Australia to counterattack as the sun made its first appearance on the opening day and batting, while not easy, was simpler than in the morning. Beau Webster on 55 and Alex Carey on 22 will resume after tea with Australia on 190/5. The precision of the first session was absent with the South Africans serving up a number of freebies, while the use of the decision review system left a lot to be desired. They were unlucky when Webster, on 1, was given not out by umpire Chris Gaffney, with the decision upheld after South Africa reviewed because the ball struck Webster fractionally outside the line of off stump. Let's watch the epic battle between Steve Smith and Sir Aiden Markram — Silme (@silme47) June 11, 2025 With Webster on eight, the Proteas chose not to review, thinking the ball from Rabada had struck the inside edge of the bat. It didn't and with Webster crouched in front of his stumps, TV replays showed the ball would have hit middle and off stumps, half up. That outcome came amid a tricky period for Webster who survived a surgical examination from Rabada, who darted the ball both ways, leaving the Australian all-rounder all at sea. Importantly he survived and forged a 79-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Smith that gradually turned the momentum in their team's favour. They were helped by another poor spell from Lungi Ngidi, whose rhythm was out of kilter, resulting in long hops and half-volleys being served up to the Australian pair. Having struggled in the morning session, too, when he delivered too many boundary balls, his stint in the afternoon provided no justification for his selection ahead of Dane Paterson, which Temba Bavuma had described as a tough decision. Smith's wicket was both a joy and shock for the Proteas. Markram was only brought on to bowl to allow Wiaan Mulder to switch to the Nursery End, but with the last ball of his first over he struck what could be critical blow in the match. Smith, starting to look ominous having seen off another good spell from Rabada post-lunch, drove hard at a wide ball that was looped up to him, which he edged with Jansen at slip, juggling, before extending his right arm to finally hold onto the ball. Smith made 66, but the manner in which he dragged himself off the field indicated how disappointed he was at not just his dismissal but the timing thereof. Australia scored 123 runs in 26.4 overs in the session, a scoring rate South Africa will want to slow down by removing the remaining batters in the final session.
IOL News
8 hours ago
- IOL News
Legend Hlompho Kekana backs Mamelodi Sundowns to excell at Club World Cup
BIG FISH, SMALL POND Mamelodi Sundowns will aim to prove their dominance on a global stage at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, following their run to CAF Champions League final and winning their eighth league title in a row. Picture: BackpagePix Mamelodi Sundowns' legend Hlompho Kekana says the current crop of players have a chance to do better at the Club World Cup compared to the class of 2016. Sundowns will be back at the global showpiece which is scheduled to get underway on Saturday in the United States (US). Their last participation in the tournament was nearly nine years ago in Japan after they won their maiden CAF Champions League crown. That event exposed that they are still far-off from being a well-oiled machine as they lost their two games to Kashima Antlers and Jeonbuk Motors respectively. However, the play-offs format has since changed heading to the upcoming event in America as the football governing body, FIFA, has extended the event to 32 teams. As such, Sundowns are pitted in Group F alongside Ulsan Hyundai, Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense respectively. With group winners and the runners-up finishers guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage, Kekana wants the Brazilians to soar to the next round after the group stage. 'I would love to see them getting out of the group because this time around the format is different from when we were in Japan,' Kekana explained. 'This time around you have three games that you are guaranteed to play, so yeah, if you win two games then you are out of the group. 'I would love to see them going to the knockout stage, that's when you'll see how far they are in terms of the level. 'But I do believe that they have what it takes to get to that level and compete. For me, I was still a player, I was going to use the space to learn a lot.' Sundowns are at the World Cup still hurting as they are on the back of losing out on the CAF Champions League crown after losing to Pyramids in the final hurdle. However, they have no room to show their vulnerability as they must compete at the event and represent the continent and South Africa with pride. 'When you are at Sundowns, really, there's no time to sulk or feel sad. You just have to dust yourself off and continue with the matches,' Kekana added. 'You just have to look at their schedule, it has been tight. From the beginning of the season, they've had to juggle every competition. 'So, this is the moment that they need to embrace. When I spoke to some of them, I said this is a rare moment. 'In football you don't find these a lot where you find yourself competing in the world. I think if you take this moment fully, you'll enjoy it. 'Two weeks ago they were sad, and this is after celebrating winning the league, so this is the moment to show what they have got as a team.' Sundowns will open their campaign against Ulsan on Wednesday next week, and given the unpopularity of the South Korean side, they are expected to win the game. Kekana knows the importance of winning the opener in major tournaments, especially after Bafana Bafana had to dig deep to finish third at the last Afcon after losing the opener in Ivory Coast 'The first game is always important, and luckily in this team, some of the boys played in the Afcon, so they'll remember why winning in the group stage is important,' he said. 'I do believe that those experiences will come into play this time around simply because now they are in the World stage.'
