[4] He helped Prince Henry's win the Under-13 Yorkshire Cup in 2000 but he missed almost all of the next season recovering from a broken leg sustained in a school game.

Care had resumed club rugby union with Otley and the season also brought another Yorkshire Cup success at Under-16's with Prince Henry's.

[citation needed] After completing his A-level studies at Prince Henry's, Care joined Leeds on a full-time basis alongside All Black scrum-half legend Justin Marshall who signed for the club during the close season.

At Harlequins Care initially found himself understudying Samoan international Steve So'oialo at scrum-half but after disappointing results early in the season the club recruited the experienced Andy Gomarsall, a member of England's World Cup winning squad in 2003.

At the end of the domestic season Care was shortlisted for the Guinness Premiership Young Player of the Year Award – he finished 3rd behind Ben Foden and the winner, Danny Cipriani.

Quins came top of their Pool which consisted of Bayonne, Connacht and I Cavalieri Prato, and beat Wasps at home in the quarter-final and Munster away in the semi-final, with Care scoring in both games.

Harlequins finished top of the Aviva Premiership at the end of the regular season and qualified for a home semi-final in the play-offs against Northampton Saints.

Care missed the semi-final due to a shoulder injury but Harlequins beat Northampton 25–23 to quality for the final against Leicester Tigers.

[citation needed] At club level Care helped Harlequins to finish 3rd in the Aviva Premiership and qualify for the end of season play-offs.

In the penultimate game of the regular season Care made his 100th Premiership appearances, he scored 2 tries as Harlequins won 42–26 against Worcester Warriors.

Harlequins won all of their group games in the Heineken Cup, making them top seeds from the pool stages, but lost a home quarter-final against Munster 18–12.

[9] In April 2024, Care was part of the Harlequins side that beat Glasgow Warriors in Champions Cup, defeating them 28–24 at home to win the club's first ever knockout game in the competition.

Despite reported interest from France, including Top 14 sides, Perpignan and Bayonne, he signed a new one-year deal to stay with Harlequins ahead of the 2024–25 season.

[13] The squad moved straight on to Los Angeles where they beat Fiji in the final of the Cup to record England's first ever win in the USA leg of the IRB Sevens.

[citation needed] He was selected for the 2006 IRB Under-21 World Championship in France, making his debut at that level in the opening game against Fiji which England won 34–8.

[citation needed] England's lost 13–6 against Ireland in Athlone, and finished the championship in 3rd place after losing 32–13 to France at Northampton and drawing 21–21 against Wales at Newport.

Due to the late withdrawal from the squad of England Sevens captain Simon Amor, Care was asked to take on additional responsibility by assuming the main play-maker role within the team.

[citation needed] He was the 2nd highest scorer in the tournament with 42 points (4 tries + 11 conversions) including 2 tries in a thrilling 24–19 victory over Australia in the Bowl semi-final which went into extra-time.

On his return from Wellington he was called into the England Saxons training squad and selected as a replacement for the game against Italy A in Ragusa, Sicily in February 2008.

He was named as the Guinness Premiership Player of the Month for March 2008,[citation needed] and in May he was selected for the England squad for the end of season game against the Barbarians and the summer tour to New Zealand.

His early season performances for Harlequins earned him selection for his third England cap as starting scrum-half for the opening Autumn International against the Pacific Islands at Twickenham.

The injury meant that Care also missed the next game against Wales but he recovered sufficiently to take a place on the bench against Ireland at Croke Park, Dublin, where England lost, 14–13.

][citation needed] for the summer tour to South Africa but he retained his place in the England squad for the end of season game against the Barbarians and the 2 match series against Argentina.

At club level Care had a disappointing season with Harlequins who finished in 8th place in the Guinness Premiership, missing out on qualification for the Heineken Cup.

England's poor performance in the game attracted significant criticism and Care was replaced by Ben Youngs for the 2nd Test one week later in Sydney.

[citation needed] Referee Steve Walsh was forced to stop the game to allow Stoddart to be treated for what turned out to be a double fracture of tibia and fibula.

The following week Care sustained a torn plantar plate affecting the big toe of his left foot, an injury which required surgery and which kept him out of England's squad for the World Cup.

The medical reports confirming that surgery was required came just a few hours after Care had been informed by England Head Coach Martin Johnson that he would be included in the squad.

Care remained on the bench in the 2013 RBS 6 Nations championship against Scotland at Twickenham, and scored England's fourth try in the final minute of the game.

Greg Growden, writing for ESPN Scrum.com in Australia, said, "Danny Care's chances of making the tour were always going to be hard after spending most of the Six Nations series on the England bench, acting as Ben Youngs' back-up."