Care eyes 'friendly rivalry' with Youngs for England spot

Danny Care, Harlequins. Photo: Tony Marshall/PA

By Rob Hartley

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

1:37 PM

Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care insists he is “good mates” with England rival Ben Youngs as the two prepare to continue their battle for the England number nine shirt.

Care says there is no added pressure whenever he plays against Leicester and British Lions star Youngs – a situation that is likely to be closely watched by the England coaching staff as the new Aviva Premiership season kicks off this weekend.

“We’ve been competing for the last few years,” he said. “It’s a friendly rivalry. We get on really well off the pitch. We help each other out whenever we can in training, so hopefully it’ll be a good battle for years to come.

“Whenever you come up against someone who is vying for your England spot, you want to play better than them, but they’re obviously feeling exactly the same… I think we are quite similar players. We both enjoy running with the ball, enjoy scoring tries, playing high-tempo rugby, so I’d say we’re quite similar really.”

England have a number of new additions to their Elite Player Squad (EPS) and Care singled out Bath’s Kyle Eastman as one to watch.

“I think Kyle Eastman’s a great player. I’m a big fan of his. I’m a big rugby league fan, so I obviously used to watch a lot of him. I think he’s probably got a big future to play for England.”

England’s next game will be against an Australia side that is currently under fire both on and off the pitch, but Care is not convinced the criticism is warranted.

“On their day, they can beat anyone. You look back at the first two Lions Tests and say they probably should have won them both.

“Will Genia is probably the best scrum-half in the world. I think [Israel] Folau is the best winger in the world at the moment. They’ve got some fantastic players. If they can gel it all together, I’m sure they can beat anyone.”

Care eyes "friendly rivalry" with Youngs for England spot