Care 'incredibly blessed' as Harlequins edge Exeter in his final home game
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.
"Today we had the emotion and togetherness to stay in the fight with our discipline much improved," he said.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
15 minutes ago
- France 24
Montreal protagonists Mboko, Osaka out of Cincinnati Open
Mboko, the 18-year-old Canadian who electrified Montreal with her run to a first WTA title, cited the wrist injury she suffered in the semi-finals while four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka blamed a "schedule change" for her absence. Cincinnati tournament officials said the pair had received byes into the second round due to their performances at the previous event. The withdrawals vaulted four lucky losers from qualifying into the first round of the main draw of the last major event prior to the August 25 start of the US Open. After defeating Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win the Montreal title, Mboko revealed that the swelling in her wrist had been bad enough on Thursday morning to prompt her to have an MRI exam before the evening final. "I woke up this morning, and I actually had my wrist a little bit swollen from (Wednesday's) fall," she said. "We quickly went to the hospital for an MRI and an X-ray before I came to the courts to practice." Mboko said she and her team eventually "got the green light that nothing too serious was going on in the wrist." But she said Thursday night that she expected to give Cincinnati a miss. "I'm not planning on playing Cincinnati at the moment. I just want to take care of my wrist a little bit right now," she said. "It's just very close and sudden for me to go there and play again (in), like, two days. "I think I'm just going to sit out on that one and prepare for the upcoming tournaments." Osaka was less definite, but said she was "teeter-tottering". "It's going to be interesting to see, yeah, what my next match is and how I'm going to play," the former world number one said. © 2025 AFP
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
American Shelton tops Khachanov to win first ATP Masters title in Toronto
The 22-year-old will rise one place to sixth in the world rankings, overtaking 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic in the table. "It's a surreal feeling," said Shelton, who is the first American since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win the Canadian trophy. "It's been a long week. It was not an easy path to the finals. "But my best tennis just came out when it mattered the most." The victory in two and three-quarter hours denied 11th seed Khachanov a chance a a second Masters shied more than six years after he won his first at Paris Bercy in 2018. Shelton, his right quadriceps muscle heavily strapped and at times appearing to be in some discomfort, stormed through a final set tiebreaker with leads of 3-0 and 5-2 on his opponent. The left-hander lined up four match points and converted on the second to clinch the biggest title of his career. The American fired 16 aces as he used his powerful serve to fuel the emotional comeback victory. He had lost serve to fall behind 4-3 in the opening set, but pegged Khachanov back to level the set at 5-5 before Khachanov, seeded 11th, took the first set -- after saving three set points in the 12th game. Khachanov sealed the 64-minute opener on his first chance with a leaping volley winner which Shelton could not touch. For the second night in a row in a showpiece match, glitches in the heralded computerized line calling technology caused commotion. The problem came to light in the fifth game of the second set, when the audio went out and left the players uncertain as to what balls were in and which were out. After six minutes of discussion while play was halted, the system came back to life with Khachanov holding for 3-2 on the resumption as he scooped a volley winner past his opponent. Shelton, loudly encouraged by his father-coach after almost every point, managed to break for a 5-4 lead and held the margin as he saved four break points in the next game before sending over a winner which left Khachanov on the ground trying to make the return. With victory secured, Shelton scrambled into the stands to celebrate with his father, former ATP player Bryan Shelton. "I was clutch, I persevered,it was brilliant, I'm developing qualities that will help in tennis and in life," Shelton said. "Karen was bullying me around the court, I felt like a freight train coming at me. The balls were coming fast but I was able to redirect. "I hit some big shots and flipped the momentum of the match."
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Smiling through: Alcaraz won't let Wimbledon defeat get him down
The world number two, who was defeated in a Grand Slam final for the first time in his career in London last month, spent his first full day at the Cincinnati site on Wednesday and said he is ready for a reboot during the second half of the season. "Even if I lost, I left the court proud after Wimbledon," the 2023 Cincinnati finalist said. "But the goals can change during the second half of the season. "My goal is to keep doing the right thing and improving. I want to enjoy my time on and off the court. "But I also want to try and recover the number one ranking by the end of the year," he added. The world number two, who joined the top-ranked Sinner in skipping the ATP Toronto Masters, said he spent a refreshing three weeks at home in Spain after his Wimbledon defeat. "I took a week off, not doing anything. Then I started training at home and visiting with friends and family. Just being at home in the summer - I couldn't believe it. "I tried to make the most of my time. I wanted to come strong to Cincy." Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the French Open final before falling to the Italian at Wimbledon, said he is "happy to be building such a rivalry. "We've done a lot in tennis in a short period of time," he said. "People talk about what we have done for the history books. But we have long careers ahead of us.. let's see how far we can go."
