Danny Care is one of the best running scrum‑halves in the world but I was really pleased with how he contributed in different ways against Australia. He is obviously a good mate of mine. I played alongside him for a long time and now coach him at Harlequins and what we saw at Twickenham were the fruits of Danny maturing as a player as he has got older.

He has worked really hard on seeing the space in behind and when the opportunities are there in the big games, he really nails it. A recent Premiership match against Sale stands out in my mind – he was spot-on at identifying that space. He has that ability to put the ball over the top and put it on the money, as we saw at Twickenham.

It was clear that against Australia he added a little bit more tempo, he got the ball away nice and quickly and you could see the team go to another level. He played on the fact that Australia were mentally and physically a bit all over the place and sucked of energy. He got England into another gear, the floodgates opened a little and he capped it off with a great try.

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Looking for space in behind and nailing those kicks – as we saw for the tries for Jonny May and Jonathan Joseph – has been a big work-on for Danny. At Quins we are playing with a lot more width and that means Danny needs to get in there and get the pass away a lot more. A big part of his game is his running strength and we don’t want to take that away from him but I think it will make him a better player, having the ability to get the pass away and choosing the right time to put the ball in behind, then choosing the right time to run – it all combines to manipulate the defence a little bit more.

He is such a dangerous runner around those fringes and, of course, you want to see more of it because it’s fantastic to watch. But being able to mix it up, pick and choose his times to go or to kick and pull the defence around can be such a string to his bow because he’s got a fantastic offensive kicking game. He has worked really hard on that and has a knack of seeing the space and putting the ball exactly where he wants to.

His box-kicking has really improved, too, and that is another sign of his maturity. That has also been a big work-on for him. He’s really improved in that area and it makes him a more well-rounded No9, a guy that can do a bit of everything. He knows when to do things at the right time, which was epitomised against Australia. There was space in behind and he saw it. He didn’t need to run; he didn’t need to pass. All he needed to do was put the ball where it needed to be, with good communication and awareness, and then you get the results.

Make no mistake, Danny might be a brilliant finisher as Eddie Jones calls them but he would still love to be starting for England. That desire is still as fierce as ever. No one wants to be sitting on the bench for his country – I did it for years and hated it – but the important thing is that you know your role.

You are always disappointed for a little while but you have to park that and make sure that during the week you know exactly what you need to do when you come on. Then you’ve got to be constantly watching the game, feeling the game, seeing how it changes, getting a sense of the intensity of both sides and what is needed.

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It is a big role for these guys coming on now because they do change games. Danny is fantastic at it but there is still that drive to get that starting spot and, if he keeps coming on and performing like he did on Saturday, he is going to put a lot of pressure on Ben Youngs and cause Eddie a headache.

I definitely felt, though, that the timing was right for the bench to make an impact. It escalated pretty quickly from a tight, intriguing game for those first 60 minutes because Australia ran out of steam and that was down to the relentless physicality of England.

Against Samoa on Saturday I’d expect there would be some changes because it is the perfect time to give some of the players on the fringe a start. Danny is not on the fringe; he’s a big part of the squad. and very experienced, But it is a chance for him to show what he can do and for other guys as well.

We are two years out from the World Cup and Eddie needs to see some of the others playing some top-level rugby. All of a sudden it will be the Six Nations, a tough tour of South Africa and then you are 15-16 months away from the World Cup and you don’t want to be thinking then about building combinations. It is the perfect opportunity to test some guys who should be there, in and around the World Cup squad, to see how they cope under a bit of pressure.