Porter: I’m going to fight hard for that No 9 shirt
Will Porter has been learning from the old master Danny Care at Harlequins but is ready to paint his own pictures in the Londoners’ multi-coloured shirts.
Scrum-half Porter, a casualty of Wasps’ collapse, joined Quins in 2023 after a brief spell at Bristol where he ran into the immovable object Care.
The 101-time England capped Care has retired from international rugby and is embarking on season 18 at The Stoop after starting at Leeds in 2003.
Porter started nine games in the league last season, but six of those came with Care at the World Cup, and is determined to cement that place and bite the hand that has fed him advice over the last year.
The 25-year-old, 12 years Care’s junior, said: “I really want to fight for that nine jersey and get as much game time as I can.
“I came in here and you get angry and you are going to push him out of the position but you meet Danny and he is a really nice guy. There is no better person to learn off in terms of experience and what he has seen. He has seen the game progress but has still managed to be so impactful. I see a lot of similarities in him to what I want to bring to my game. He is great to learn off but I also love competing with him and making him slightly better and keeping him going. I couldn’t ask for a better player to have in the squad.
“He is a fit as ever, it is amazing the way he gets to compete week after week with how long he has been doing it and I hope one day I will be able to do that at anywhere close to his age.
“He works smart. He throws his body around but he is clever with it. Off the pitch he knows what his body needs and he rests when he needs to. I feel like I have learned to respect my body more just by watching him.”
Quins have been bolstered by the addition of British Lions Leigh Halfpenny and Wyn Jones and have other leaders like Care, Stephan Lewies, Joe Launchbury and Marcus Smith on board.
Porter added: “Our senior leadership I would argue is the best in the Premiership. Anywhere Joe goes, when he talks everyone listens. Then you have someone like Leigh, who might not be so open in talking in team environments but the stuff he says is unbelievable. He has only been in about two weeks but I am sure our 15s will learn loads off him. When you see some of these legends of the game stand up and talk, everyone listens. As a team, the sky is the limit for us.”
