Danny Care out of England's Six Nations squad after arrest

ENGLISH rugby appears to have picked up in 2012 where it left off last year after scrum half Danny Care was kicked out of England's Six Nations squad today and fined £10,000 after being arrested for drink driving on New Year's Day.
 
The Harlequins player, who missed out on the World Cup because of injury, is due to appear in court on 16 January and will be pleading guilty to the charge.
 
The 25-year-old said he was "devastated" by the RFU punishment but admitted he had "made a very bad decision".
 
According to The Daily Telegraph, Care will also be fined £10,000 by Harlequins and will have to work on the club's inner city coaching programme until next season. He will also undergo alcohol counselling.
 
It is the second incident involving Care in three weeks. The player was arrested and fined for being drunk and disorderly after a night out with Harlequins team-mates following their Heineken Cup defeat by Toulouse on December 9.
 
New England boss Stuart Lancaster, who took over from Martin Johnson, has taken a hard line with the scrum-half and appeared unimpressed with his behaviour.
 
"This is his second arrest in three weeks for alcohol related offences and it is completely unacceptable," he said. "At such a time that we feel he can be trusted to behave appropriately on and off the field then he will be reconsidered for selection, but this will not be until the conclusion of the Six Nations as a minimum."
 
Sam Munnery in The Times points out that Lancaster's no-nonsense attitude appears to be in sharp contrast to his predecessor's. Johnson was accused of going easy on his wayward players during a World Cup campaign that was blighted by off-field incidents.
 
It also leaves England with a big problem at scrum half for the Six Nation's tournament. Ben Youngs and Richard Wigglesworth have fitness concerns and the other candidate, Joe Simpson, has only one cap. ·