Scotland at Twickenham. England won 38–18 with Care coming off the bench in the second half to score England's fourth try in the final minute of the game. Care remained on the bench for the Round 2 fixture against Ireland in Dublin the following week. England won a tight game 12–6 and Care did not get onto the field, the first time in his England career that he had been an unused replacement. In Round 3, 2 weeks later, Care came off the bench in the second half to guide England to a narrow 23–13 victory against France at Twickenham. Care was given the opportunity to start in the Round 4 game against Italy at Twickenham but despite winning 18–11 the England performance was disappointing. Care was back on the bench for the championship decider against Wales in Cardiff in the final game of the tournament. England had the opportunity to clinch the championship and a Grand Slam but Wales won comfortably 30–3, England's biggest ever defeat in the fixture, and they had to settle for the runners-up position. In March 2013 Care featured as a "Mystery Guest" in BBC TV's "A Question of Sport". At club level Care helped Harlequins to finish 3rd in the Aviva Premiership and qualify for the end of season play-offs. In the semi-final away to Leicester Tigers they lost 33–16 to end the defence of their title. Care scored 8 tries in 17 Premiership appearances during the season – the best tally of his career in a single season. In the penultimate game of the regular season away at Worcester Warriors Care reached the milestone of 100 Premiership appearances (6 for Leeds Tykes + 94 for Harlequins) – he celebrated by scoring 2 tries as Harlequins beat Worcester 42–26 to clinch their semi-final place. Harlequins qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup by winning all 6 of their group games against Biarritz (France); Connacht (Ireland) & Zebre (Italy). Harlequins were top seeds from the qualification stages and earned a home quarter-final against Munster (Ireland) but lost the match 18–12. Care scored 4 tries in 7 appearances in the competition. Care was one of six players shortlisted for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Year Award, the winner was Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers). He was also shortlisted for the Rugby Players' Association (RPA) Player of the Year Award, the winner was Christian Wade