Lengthy ban for Care
England scrumhalf Danny Care has been banned from driving for 16 months and fined £3,000 (US$4,590) for drunk driving.
The 25-year-old had already been omitted from England’s Six Nations squad and fined by his club side, Harlequins, over the incident.
Care was stopped in his vehicle by police in the early hours of January 1 and pleaded guilty to the charge of drunk driving.
He was sentenced at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
He said in a statement issued after his arrest that he intended to plead guilty.
“I do accept that I made a very bad decision on the evening in question and need to take the punishment that the courts hand out,” Care said at the time.
“I have decided not to contest the charge as I want to bring this to a close swiftly rather than have it hanging over my head for a year or more.
“I would stress though that at no time did I think I had drunk enough to be over the legal limit.
“However, I should not have got into the car and have to accept the consequences of that action.”
Care put his off-field issues to one side on Saturday to play a key role as Harlequins kept their Heineken Cup ambitions alive with a 20-14 victory over Gloucester.
Harlequins were facing elimination when Care’s kick from the outside of his right foot bounced awkwardly for Gloucester wing Charlie Sharples and allowed in-form fullback Mike Brown to score the decisive try.
“He’s been playing really well recently,” said try-scorer Brown.
“He is obviously hurting inside but he doesn’t let people see that – and that is good for the team because he doesn’t want to drag people down.
“That is why he is such a good player to have around. He is a big leader for us. It shows what a character he is to bounce back. He’s reacting positively.”
AP & PA
