Danny Care reveals the best gifts the England squad got each other

Whilst Care opted for golf balls with the England rose on, he conceded he was rather outdone by his Harlequins team-mate Smith.

“Smith came in with 60 degrees Mizuno wedges, personalised with your initials and the England rose on it. I think that had to be the best,” he said.

Other gifts included massage goggles from Itoje and gin from Manu Tuilagi, who owns a distillery alongside his seven brothers. One gift that failed to live up to the billing, though, was that of Youngs who first brought in the idea.

“Youngs brought 32 travel adaptors, which was practical, but you may have expected more from England’s most-capped men’s player of all time,” Care said.

For the 36-year-old, the tournament offers perhaps one final chance at World Cup redemption. Despite having 90 caps for his country, the veteran has played just one game in a World Cup – a dead rubber in 2015 against Uruguay.

“I was going to come out here and be doing the interviews and know I’m the one answering the questions. It was a bit of a pinch-me moment when we landed in Le Touqet,” he recalled.

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