Martin Johnson must free England to attack in Six Nations, says Danny Care

In full throw: Danny Care hopes to make more of an impression for England in the Six Nations
Steve Douglas10 April 2012

Danny Care today urged England manager Martin Johnson to throw off the shackles and go on the attack in the Six Nations.

The Harlequins scrum-half was part of a back division that struggled in England's November Test series, which yielded just one win and one try in three lacklustre outings.

But with Delon Armitage, Riki Flutey and Toby Flood returning to the squad after missing the autumn games through injury, Johnson has more options behind the scrum as he plans his assault on Wales in the tournament opener at Twickenham on Saturday.

Care, whose naturally attacking style has been stymied when he is in an England shirt, wants the team to be more ambitious as they bid to go one better than last year's second-placed finish.

"It's been hard having to rein in my game for England," he said. "We all know it's hard for the England coaches because we don't get enough time to work as a team and the coaches have so many players coming in from different clubs.

"But, hopefully, we'll play more attacking and be more expansive than in the autumn and score some tries.

"We were disappointed with the amount of tries we scored and that's something we'll look to improve on. It was a frustrating autumn and we want to right a few wrongs."

Care breezed into international rugby in the summer of 2008 and has since commanded a regular place in Johnson's squad yet he has not been able to make the No9 jersey his own.

Scrum-half is arguably England's strong suit at the moment, with Paul Hodgson and a host of precocious youngsters providing fierce competition, while he has also been unfortunate with injury — he missed a chunk of last year's Six Nations with ankle ligament damage caused by slipping on ice at the team hotel in Surrey.

He shared No9 duties in the autumn with Hodgson, who started the final two Tests after an edgy Care had failed to shine in a defeat to Australia. And it looks to be a toss-up regarding who will be given the nod against Wales.

Care is desperate for another opportunity to impress from the off and is hoping to avoid bench duty.

"It was very frustrating to start the first game and then end up on the bench," said Care, speaking on behalf of the Gatorade Gives Back campaign.

"When you're a sub, it's a weird feeling. You go out there, sing the anthem and feel fired up. Then you have to go and sit on the bench.

"I'd love to start these games in the Six Nations and take control of that No9 shirt. But Paul has been playing well and, in fact, there's a lot of scrum-halves that've been doing really well.

"It's good because it's great competition and you can't ever have a bad game but I've been happy with my form."

Care was probably best remembered in last year's tournament for being the player who caused Johnson to smash his fist into his thigh in disgust, after the scrum-half had been sin-binned for crashing recklessly into a ruck against Ireland. But he intends to be on people's lips for other reasons this time.

"I'm massively looking forward to it, with what happened last year," he added. "Hopefully I can get a few games under my belt. I'd love to get to the level where people talk about you as one of the world's best scrum-halves."

In Care's absence, Quins boosted their chances of qualifying for the LV Cup semi-finals thanks to a 16-13 win at London Irish, with Academy star Sam Smith again on the tryscoring trail.

Smith, 19, touched down in Quins' victory over Newcastle in the same competition back in November, in what was his first senior appearance for the club.

And he starred at the Madejski Stadium yesterday in his second start, racing 80 metres to set Quins on their way to a win that leaves them joint top of Pool Three with Cardiff Blues.

Smith was in tryscoring form last week for both National League One leaders Esher — from whom he has just been recalled after a loan spell — and the England Under-20s.

"He's a strong lad with a lot of confidence at the moment," said Quins head coach John Kingston. "He scored seven tries in two games [last week] and I'm pleased to see him coming through."

Nick Evans kicked 11 points for Quins while Jonathan Joseph grabbed a brace of tries in vain for Irish, who are now out of contention in Pool Two.

The result sees Harlequins leapfrog London Wasps, who lost 18-13 to the Scarlets, while Saracens' 28-5 bonus-point win at Leeds leaves them second in Pool One.

To get involved in Gatorade Gives Back, collect codes shown on each bottle of Gatorade and enter them via mobile or online through www.gatorade.co.uk to accumulate points on an individual basis for prizes or as a team for monetary rewards.

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