England and Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care has given Raffi Quirke his backing following his sensational opening weekend performance against Bath.
The 20-year-old, who comes from a family of triathlete's, played for less than half of the match but he showed why Sale Sharks are confident that they can still be a Gallagher Premiership force while the scrum half Faf de Klerk is on international duty with the Springboks
Care, who won 84 caps for England between 2008 and 2018, has not played for England since a falling out with Eddie Jones
World Cup-winning scrum-half Kyran Bracken first revealed why the Quins playmaker was mysteriously frozen out of Jones plans in 2018 despite being a regular up until that point.
“He (Care) made the mistake of speaking his mind to Eddie Jones and questioning how he wanted him to play when he was playing with an England ‘B’ team against Japan in the autumn of 2018,” said Bracken.
“Eddie’s response to that was ‘that’s not the attitude I want’ and he binned him from his plans.”
5 players who’ve MISSED out on Eddie Jones England training squad
#1. Billy Vunipola
The Telegraph have revealed this morning that despite his body transformation and pick up in form, the Saracens number 8 will be one of the high-profile omissions from Jones squad. Vunipola, who has been a stalwart under the Aussie, failed to impress during the 2021 Six Nations as England slumped to a fifth place finish.
#2. Elliot Daly
The Lions speedster is currently out injured after picking up a knock in pre-season. The Mail Online suggest he will be fit for the Autumn Nations Series next month.
#3.George Ford
Despite an impressive opening day performance for Leicester against Exeter Chiefs, the fly-half also missed out as first reported by the Telegraph. It’s the first time Ford has ever been left out by Jones since he took the job in December 2015.
#4. Jamie George
Frustrations continue for the Saracens hooker, who wasn’t selected for any of the Lions tests in the summer against South Africa. George, who has been a key man for Jones since 2017, finds himself dropped by the Aussie for the first time.
#5. Mako Vunipola
Despite appearing in all three tests for the Lions in the summer, Vunipola was also overlooked by the England boss as he looks to refresh his squad. Jones has instead opted to recall Joe Marler after he opted out of the Six Nations to spend time with family.