Care has scored 85 top-flight tries for Harlequins in his 19 seasons with the club
Former England scrum-half Danny Care has announced his retirement from rugby after amassing 101 Test caps and a record 394 appearances for Harlequins.
The 38-year-old, who called time on his international career after last year’s Six Nations, will hang up his boots at the end of the current season.
Care had previously said he wanted to end his club career after the 2025-26 season, a campaign that would have been his 20th at the Stoop.
“So, it’s finally time. Unfortunately, after 19 years of playing for this incredible club, I’m going to be retiring from rugby at the end of the season,” said Care.
“I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting a lad from Leeds come down to this club and feel like home from day one.”
He leaves with two Premiership titles to his name, along with the European Challenge Cup success secured via victory over Stade Francais in the 2011 final.
Care, a promising youth footballer, initially played for Leeds Tykes before being signed by Harlequins in 2006.
A 21-year-old Care made his England debut in June 2008, and was one of Quins’ star performers as they beat Leicester Tigers 30-23 in the 2012 Premiership final.
Care was central to the team’s title-winning campaign nine years later, when, in the wake of coach Paul Gustard’s departure, they won five of their last seven regular-season games to propel themselves into the play-offs, before dramatically beating Bristol and Exeter to lift the Premiership trophy.
After dovetailing with Nick Evans, Care forged a new half-back partnership with Marcus Smith to lift the Premiership title once again
On the international stage, he was part of England’s Grand Slam-winning team of 2016, while also lifting Six Nations titles in 2011 and 2017.
However, he missed the run to the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup after being left out of the team for nearly three years by then head coach Eddie Jones.
Care returned to the fold in summer 2022 and appeared regularly off the bench as England lost to eventual champions South Africa in the last four of France 2023.
