Rugby: Harlequins director of rugby Conor O'Shea feels the incident that saw Danny Care yesterday arrested and cautioned for a third drink-related offence in three months "should have been avoided" but insists the club will continue to support the scrumhalf.
The 25-year-old Care, who was dropped from the England squad by caretaker coach Stuart Lancaster after his previous misdemeanours, was found urinating against a building by the British Transport Police following a night out in Leeds.
After meeting with Care this morning, O’Shea said: “After last Friday evening’s match at Newcastle, our players were given a week off and Danny went to spend a few days with his parents at their home in Leeds. On Saturday evening, he went out with some friends in the city and took a taxi home. He was caught short and stopped the taxi to relieve himself.
“The situation Danny finds himself in is unfortunate and is one that could and should have been avoided. We have no intention of doing anything other than supporting Danny and continuing to work with him so he understands his position and the decisions he makes.”
Care insisted the incident was down to “a small bladder [rather] than excessive drinking”.
Care was banned from driving for 16 months after pleading guilty to drink-driving in the early hours of New Year’s Day. That incident came three weeks after he had been fined by police for being drunk and disorderly.
After the second incident, Lancaster announced Care would not be part of his Six Nations squad, saying: “He has made two poor decisions in three weeks. I don’t think he has got a lifestyle problem, but you can’t condone what he has done.”
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