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Danny Care feared he would never win a Grand Slam
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England clinched Grand Slam with 31-21 victory against France in Paris
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His only other Six Nations triumph was soured by defeat in the final game
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The scrum-half was relegated to third choice at last autumn but returned to the fold under Eddie Jones
Five months ago Danny Care’s England career looked on the edge of concluding, and the Harlequins man has admitted to the Dailly Mail he feared his decade-long international career would finish on a sour note.
The scrum-half was the third choice under Stuart Lancaster during last autumn’s disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign, but last week in Paris a rejuvenated Care, who has been back to his best for Quins, ran the show as England claimed a first Grand Slam since 2003.
The 29-year-olds try 11 minutes into the game against France, which England went on to win 31-21, was without a doubt the most important try of his 58-cap career and the number nine admitted: “I was massively fearful of not winning anything with England.
“You look back over your career and you’re defined by what trophies you won. It got to a stage when a lot of the squad who’d been around for eight or nine years said, enough is enough”.
‘We were sick of finishing second and everyone saying we weren’t good enough. A couple of us had won it before but it didn’t feel like it, lifting the trophy when we’d lost our last game.
‘Fear of failure is a key driving factor. Hopefully this is a step to another level of dominance for English rugby. We’ve been waiting too long without winning stuff.’