Harlequins director of rugby Billy Millard sang the praises of Danny Care after he delivered an excellent performance during Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup win over Ulster at Twickenham Stoop.
Care was one of Harlequins’ stars as they outscored the Irish outfit by seven tries to three en route to a 47-19 victory which secured them a spot in the last 16.
Although they have advanced to the tournament’s play-offs, Quins are still waiting for the outcome of Toulouse’s clash with Bath on Sunday to find out if they will play that knockout match at home.
All three teams are level on 15 points in Pool Two of the
– with Quins having played four matches and Toulouse and Bath three each – and if Bath fail to take anything from Sunday’s clash in Toulouse, will have that home tie.
shone on attack against Ulster and during his 60-minute performance – before being replaced by Will Porter – he was rewarded with a try for his efforts.
“Danny is a smart player. He’s pretty canny and showed that on the intercept. He didn’t have the legs to go far, but he was outstanding,” said Millard, who confirmed that Quins are in talks to extend Care’s contract by another season.
“He’s such a smart player and what people possibly don’t see is that he’s as tough as nails. He throws himself around.
“We don’t really have to look after him in the week. He does everything, he’s fresh and happy and playing really well.
“We try to look after him and the medics know him well. He just looks after himself and always plays well for us.
“I hope he has another season here. There are discussions taking place. He’s our furniture, isn’t he? He’s got more in him.”
also singled out Louis Lynagh out for special praise after he was a late addition to Quins’ replacements bench – after Cameron Anderson was forced out through injury and Will Joseph elevated to the starting XV.
Lynagh came onto the field in the 16th minute as a replacement for Oscar Beard and made an immediate impact as he score two tries – one which was an superb individual effort which Millard singled out for special praise.
“Louis has been around us a long time so he knows exactly what the deal is. He’s worked really hard and deserves it. He gave us a real foothold into the game,” director of rugby Billy Millard said.
“Louis is outstanding and he showed that – I will sit back and watch his try over a glass of red. It was just that determination to stay in it. He’s a big part of it here and we’ve got a really strong back three.
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Millard said Beard, who was named in England’s Six Nations squad, will undergo the return to play protocols for concussion while Joe Marler’s exit at half-time was pre-planned.
“We wanted Joe to get out there and some running in before he goes into England camp. He’s worked really hard to come back from his arm injury. He was outstanding,” Millard said.
Meanwhile, Ulster have failed to advance to the knockout rounds and their head coach, Dan McFarland, believes they have themselves to blame for that.
“We’re pretty gutted about that. We had high expectations of ourselves coming into this group but we haven’t performed and we’ve got to live with that,” he said.
“We’ve been beaten by some good teams in a tough group, but we’ll also look at our own performance and that’s been the most disappointing thing.”
