The coffee meeting that helped end Danny Care's England isolation

Eddie Jones made his peace with Danny Care over a coffee two months ago it has emerged, with the 35-year-old Harlequins scrum half set to make his first appearance for England in four years. 

Care was an ever-present fixture within matchday squads during the first three years of Jones’ tenure as England head coach. However Care was unceremoniously axed following an alleged confrontation at half-time of England’s 35-15 victory against Japan in November 2018. 

At 31, it seemed as if Care’s international career, in which he has won 84 caps, had come to an end as he was overlooked for a succession of scrum halves playing deputy to Ben Youngs. However, this season Jones acknowledged the blistering form for Harlequins, which has led to a nomination for Premiership player of the season, with a text message. That in turn led to a clear-the-air meeting where Care impressed upon Jones his desperation to force his way back into the fold. 

“I've always liked Danny as a player,” Jones said. “He played a lot of Tests early from 2016 to 2018. He's got the ability to jump on a break and make sure the attack keeps going forward, which given the speed of the ball in today's game is invaluable. And he's a good character.

“We keep an eye on all players. After a game recently I texted him to say “well played” as I thought he played really well. He came back and said he’d love to catch up. We had a coffee and was very adamant on how keen he was to play for England. Then you get a bit more interested. He’s been fantastic, really rejuvenated, spring in his step, sparkle in his eye. A little bit wiser than he was here, so it's really positive.

“The ruck speed suits him. The speed of the ball now allows him to play his natural game whereas when