Danny Care: The scrum-half says he will stay with Harlequins until 2025-26
BBC Sport rugby union news correspondent Mike Henson:
It was widely expected that Carey would hang up his boots at the end of this season with his former team-mate and friend Joe Marler following him into the sunset.
Those expectations were partly set by CARE itself.
“At the time of writing I am still a Harlequins player, although it remains to be seen whether I make it to the end of the second season,” he wrote in an autobiography released in the autumn.
“The pain in my knees and shoulders isn’t going away and there are times when I’d rather be anywhere else than on the training ground. Rugby is no game for old men.”
But, with the help of modern conditioning and recovery methods, players have been able to play for longer periods of time.
Carey’s former Harlequins teammate Mike Brown, who will turn 40 this year, is still playing for Leicester, while former Premiership stalwart Jimmy Gopperth is playing in the French second tier at the age of 41.
Carey’s decision to remain could affect succession planning at Queens.
In addition to Will Porter, he also rates 18-year-old Lucas Friday highly as a scrum-half option. However, he was reported to have lined up Sale’s Raffi Quirke, external As a replacement for Carey at the end of the season.
