“So, it’s finally time,” said Care. “Unfortunately, after 19 years of playing for this incredible club, I’m going to be retiring from rugby at the end of the season.
“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.”
On the RugbyPass Offload podcast earlier this year, Care shared his memories of facing Lomu in an encounter between Cardiff and Leeds in 2005 when the Englishman was still a teenager.
“I tackled him. I say tackled... I remember him bursting through. I was 17, 70 kilos, and I remember he looked up at me and genuinely started smiling, like started laughing. He could have gone either way, he could have run straight through me, he could have gone left or could have gone right, whatever he wanted to do.
“This is why I love Jonah Lomu. He just ran as softly as he could to one of my shoulders. I went by his thighs, slipped down to his knees, slipped further down and literally pulled him down by his shoelaces. And he just offloaded the ball quite nicely. And then I was lying on the floor, I remember he picked me up, rubbed me on the head and said ‘well done mate’.”
England coach Steve Borthwick paid tribute to his former player.
“Danny has been the heartbeat of every team he’s played for, with his passion, skill, and energy lighting up stadiums wherever he went,” he said.
“He’s given everything to rugby and I congratulate him on a brilliant career. On behalf of the team, we wish him the best in the next chapter.”
Harlequins chief executive Laurie Dalrymple said: “It’s hard to put into words the impact Danny has had on not just Harlequins rugby club, but the sport of rugby union as a whole.
“As he steps away from the professional game, he leaves behind an incredible legacy.”
After his retirement, Care will represent Harlequins in an ambassadorial role.
The club are currently seventh in the 10-team English Premiership with two games to go of the regular season and are unlikely to reach the play-offs.
