Danny Care finds himself in familiar territory: with his Harlequins contract running down and another decision to make.
For the fifth season in a row, Harlequins’ record appearance-maker will head into the New Year weighing up his future.
The situation is anything but alarming though, in fact it's helping Care bring the best out of himself and perhaps even extending his career in the process.
Should Care sign on at The Stoop for 2024-25, he will extend his west London stay into a 19th year.
Allied to his all-time Quins record 364 appearances and still rising, Care’s remarkable career also comprises 96 England caps – and a speed of foot and thought that shows no signs of abating despite him turning 37 on January 2.
Care righted a personal wrong by starring for England in their third-place finish at the World Cup in France, and then immediately told Red Rose boss Steve Borthwick how he would dearly love to continue his Test adventure.
The signs point to Care staying put at Quins, even if England look to a younger generation of scrum-halves for the Six Nations.
Care has offers from overseas and even ventures outside of rugby he could pursue, but then, he has been here before, and the unknown keeps driving him forward.
“My contract, the last four years it’s been up every season and I’ve just done one-year renewals,” Care tells Standard Sport.
“So, it kind of gets to this time of the year, and you think ‘this could be the last year, you never know’.
“I’m in the same boat again this year, weighing everything up for the future, but I’m still enjoying my rugby, and still feeling like I can do it.
“I’ve had a good conversation with Steve at the end of the World Cup, where I told him I'm desperate to still play for England if you need me.
"I’ve been at Harlequins for 17 years... I couldn’t imagine playing for anyone else in England"
“I fully understand if it’s time to go with a young crop, and I’d be the first person to say, ‘fair play, it’s your decision’.
“He just said play as well as you can. So I’ll just play it by ear and have a crack and see what happens.
“The contract situation, it probably helps a bit with performance that I can’t rest on any laurels, I’ve got to play well to deserve another contract next year.
“We're talking at the club at the minute. There's been a little bit of interest from outside as well, so I’ve got a few decisions to make over the next few weeks, and we’ll see what happens.
“I’ve been here 17 years, it’s been a long time. I couldn’t imagine playing for anyone else in England.
“Me and my family have a few decisions to make in the next few weeks and we’ll see what happens. But I’m loving it here, loving coming back to this club.
“The World Cup was a long process, five months away from the family, but it’s great to come back to the club – home.
“I still feel as though I can keep playing for a year or so more, and everyone I speak to tells me to keep playing as long as I can, so we’ll see.”
Borthwick took Eddie Jones’ final muddle and turned England into a hard-to-beat regiment.
Care believes the wider rugby public will start to appreciate Borthwick’s “genius” as his time at the England helm further unfolds.
“I loved working with Steve in the summer, I thought he was brilliant: he’s a genius, I think people probably don’t see that yet, but I think they will, and perhaps they are starting to,” says Care.
“He called pretty much that whole World Cup, from start to finish, in how it was going to end up, and it’s crazy how close he was.
“I’ve loved working for him and I’d love to still play in the Six Nations, but if not I'll be a very proud supporter of that team going forward.
“I think Steve’s done great things for the future and that team’s only going to get better.”
England will certainly be without one half-back for the Six Nations, in the shape of captain Owen Farrell. The Saracens stalwart has withdrawn from consideration to protect his mental health.
Harlequins tyro Marcus Smith will go head to head with Sale’s George Ford for England’s now vacant No10 shirt.
Smith has eased back to top form after the World Cup, and will face a big test up against Scotland fly-half Finn Russell in Quins’ Premiership trip to Bath on Saturday.
While some England fans see Farrell and Smith at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of attacking style, Care insisted there is much more that unites rather than divides them.
And the evergreen Quins star urged supporters to start accentuating players’ positives, as a mini-New Year’s resolution.
“Marcus, Owen and George, they’re all different, all born with different skills and X-factor bits,” said Care. “If you could amalgamate all three into one player, you’d create the best player ever.
“But they all want the same thing, for England to do well, to play well and to win.
“All three of them are brilliant, and I’d like for everyone to be more positive about them.
“Instead of picking on what they can’t do, let’s focus on what they can do, and the fact that we have three players of world-class quality.”
Tickets for Harlequins’ Big Game 15 men’s and women’s Twickenham double-header against Gloucester on December 30 are on sale now at: eticketing.co.uk/harlequins
