Why Danny Care believes struggling Harlequins can ‘do an Exeter’ and gatecrash the Prem top four

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When debating which teams will be in the mix for the Prem title this season, it’s fair to say that Harlequins aren’t a name crossing many people’s lips. Finishing ninth of 10 teams in last season’s league table will have that effect.

Given the fact that Quins have been on a steady downward trajectory for the past half-decade since winning the title in 2020-2021 – finishing third (before losing in the semi-finals) in 2021-22, coming sixth for each of the next two seasons and seventh in 2024-25 before the nadir of second-bottom last term – this is hardly surprising. But Danny Care remains hopeful.

In fact, the Quins legend sees no reason why the club shouldn’t be aiming for a place in the top four – and a shot at the title in the end-of-season playoffs – this year, with very recent history providing a perfect template to follow.

Exeter leapt from ninth in 2024-25, and seventh each of the prior three seasons, to finish third last term and reach the Prem final. In fact, at Allianz Stadium they were leading 17-14 midway through the second half before Northampton Saints fought back to triumph 26-17.

Saints themselves ultimately lifted the trophy having finished eighth the previous year, although that was a different situation to Chiefs, given they still finished as runners-up in the Investec Champions Cup despite their down year domestically and had also won the title in 2023-24.

Regardless, May’s Prem final was still eighth vs ninth from the previous season and it’s that inherent volatility that has Care dreaming of a remarkable turnaround for his beloved southwest London club.

“I think anyone can look at what Exeter did last year and where they were a couple years back. Probably Saints last year as well,” explained Care, who is a pundit on TNT Sports. “There’s stories in this Prem of teams that were poor the year before and then found something.

“A lot of this league revolves around a little bit of luck and a bit of momentum. Then it’s about trying to just keep that momentum going.

“Quins have to believe that [they can do an Exeter]. Realistically whether they can push into that top four, it’s going to be really tough but for Quins, I would be setting my aspirations at least top six and then why not getting that top four? And I think almost every team is going to be saying exactly the same to you.”

Care was speaking to The Independent just before the new Prem season got underway and while a 33-17 home defeat to title hopefuls Bath on the opening weekend was a frustrating start, there were certainly positives to build on. That included Will Porter scoring an audacious solo try from a lineout and Chandler Cunningham-South finishing off a lightning-fast team score from turnover ball in their own half, in a display with patches of real attacking verve.

And Care – who made almost 400 appearances for Harlequins during a playing career in which he also won 101 England caps – believes a free-flowing Quins is essential for English rugby.

“I think the Prem needs a good Quins, like Man United in the Premier League,” he said. “You need a good Harlequins to entertain, to dazzle and to show the way in terms of attacking rugby.

“I think Quins will be better this year. They have to be, is the plain and simple truth. As an ex-player it was tough to watch last year. There were a lot of contributing factors as to why it went the way it did.

“They need to keep their best players available and they’ve had a good look internally at what they’re doing training-wise, recovery-wise, all that sort of stuff. That’s been needed for a few years now to make sure you’ve got the best tools to go out there and perform on the weekend. They’ve got to be better in every area really so there’s a lot for them to to go at.

“It’s got all the ingredients there that they should have a good crack at it this year. So, I’m excited for them. There’s a lot of pressure on them but I’m hopeful as a Quins fan.”

Last season appeared almost doomed from the start, with head coach Danny Wilson leaving to take up a coaching job with Wales shortly before the campaign got underway, thrusting Australian defence coach Jason Gilmore – who had only joined the club at the start of the previous season – into the top job on an interim basis.

Results were largely poor but after “an exhaustive global coaching search”, the Harlequins top brass determined that man already in the building, Gilmore, was the perfect choice to take the role on a permanent basis. The 67-year-old former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was named as performance director but is set to spend just 12 weeks per year on site with the club, while working remotely for the rest of the time.

“Gilly [Gilmore] is one of the best blokes you could come across,” insisted Care. “When you boil rugby down, just being a good bloke doesn’t make you a brilliant coach but it does help.

“It helps with the lads who wanted to play for someone like Gilly. And you can’t judge him on what happened last year because everybody thought that Danny Wilson… He led the programme through all of the offseason, all the preseason, he was in charge of recruitment and all that sort of stuff, only to suddenly leave a few weeks before the season.

“And Gilly has come over from Australia, he’s new to the league, he’s a defence coach to whom they’ve suddenly gone ‘right, you’ve got the keys. This is your team.’ I wasn’t surprised with what happened. I think judge Gilly after this year when he’s had a year with his ideas, the players that he wants to bring in and he’s bedded in his principles. I think he is the right guy.

“I hope [the Robbie Deans appointment] is not a gimmick. I think it’s more for the coaches, just to give them a little bit of guidance. There’s been some young coaches in that group for a long time and obviously Robbie’s been in and around the game a lot. Not necessarily in the Premiership but he’s been in and around rugby, he’s been to the very top so they can only learn off someone like that. I hope it’s something that is there for the long term, really trying to develop these coaches and develop the environment to thrive.

“Unfortunately, being a Harlequin for a long time, the consistency is probably the key word for the club. They just need to get over that hurdle of being a 10 out of 10 team one week and a 4 out of 10 the next – that just won’t cut it this year in the Premiership. So I think the mindset is the biggest piece.”

Every match of the 2026/27 Gallagher PREM is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, continuing this Friday with Bath v Exeter from 7pm.