Care handed driving ban
ByPA Sport
Updated 16/01/2012 at 14:03 GMT
England rugby star Danny Care was fined a total of £3,100 and banned from driving for 16 months after pleading guilty to drink-driving in the early hours of New Year's Day.
Danny Care, Harlequins
Image credit: PA Photos
The Harlequins scrum-half was stopped at the Winchester services on the M3 motorway in Hampshire in the early hours, Southampton Magistrates' Court heard.
The incident led to the 25-year-old being excluded from the Six Nations squad. It came three weeks after he had been fined by police for being drunk and disorderly.
On New Year's Eve, hours before his arrest, Care tweeted: "2012 is hopefully going to be a massive year... Earn respect. Earn the shirt. Set the example."
He was also fined £10,000 by Harlequins over the incident.
Following his arrest, Care decided to plead guilty and take whatever punishment was meted out to him.
"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 he 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 Mike Brown to score the decisive try.
"He's been playing really well recently. 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," said Brown.
"That is why he is such a good player to have around. He is a big leader for us. It shows what character he is to bounce back. He is reacting positively."
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