Stuart Lancaster issues conduct warning as Danny Care returns to England squad

Stuart Lancaster warned Danny Care he is “treading a very fine line” following his recall to the England squad for this summer’s tour of South Africa.

Care, 25, was excluded from England’s Six Nations plans following his arrest for drink driving in the early hours of New Year’s Day, one of four recent brushes with the law.

The Harlequins scrum-half is on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, a claim he denies, but the case will not impact on the tour. The England coach is confident Care has a clear understanding of what is expected of him.

“In order to be an England player on the field you have to be able to lead yourself off the field. Danny needed to reassure me he could,” Lancaster said. “I met Danny. I am pleased with the progress he has made and the maturity he is now showing off the field.

“It is a great opportunity, but equally he knows he is treading a very fine line. But I trust him enough to have the confidence to take him. He is a player in form and playing at a good club who are in a big [Premiership] semi-final this weekend.

“I spoke to the solicitor involved [in the case] and there will be nothing happening during the tour. There is no period where he will be brought back during the tour. I am very much with Conor [O’Shea, Harlequins director of rugby] on this one. We understand the context of what went on that particular evening and Danny’s selection is the right one.”

Tomorrow’s semi-final will see Care, who has been in the best form of his career this season, go head-to-head with Northampton’s Lee Dickson, the incumbent England scrum-half.

Care revealed this week he had not touched alcohol since the middle of March in a bid to get his England career back on track. “It’s been a while off the booze now. I don’t have a drink problem, but I’ve made bad decisions when I’ve been drinking and now, hopefully, the trouble will go away,” Care said. “The common theme is that I was getting into trouble when I was out drinking and that’s why I stopped.”

James Haskell has also made a return to the England squad after opting out of the Six Nations to play for the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and Otago Highlanders in New Zealand.

Haskell has been drafted into the squad, along with uncapped flankers Carl Fearns and Tom Johnson, after England lost Tom Wood and Tom Croft to injury and Calum Clark to suspension. The only squad player based outside the Aviva Premiership, Haskell will arrive late on tour but he offers the experience and physicality England will need against the Springboks.

Haskell was one of England’s best players at the World Cup and he is returning to the Premiership next season with a move back to Wasps. Harlequins wing Ugo Monye, Worcester prop Matt Mullan and Leicester centre Anthony Allen are all also back in the senior England squad.

Lancaster has named 13 uncapped players, including the Wasps pair of wing Christian Wade and flanker Joe Launchbury, Saracens full-back Alex Goode and London Irish centre Jonathan Joseph.