Care's excellent end of season form earned him a recall to the England senior squad for the summer tour to South Africa. Care was overlooked for the first Test against South Africa in Durban with Ben Youngs starting and Lee Dickson on the bench, England lost 22–17. However, Care started the first mid-week game of the tour in the "non-cap" game against South African Barbarians South in Kimberley. England won 54–26 with Care scoring one of England's 8 tries late in the second-half. Care was again overlooked in favour of Youngs & Dickson for the second Test in Johannesburg, England lost 36–27. Youngs injured his shoulder in Johannesburg, an injury which caused him to return home for surgery. This opened the way for Care to be recalled to the starting XV for the third and final Test in Port Elizabeth with Dickson on the bench. A much improved performance saw England draw 14–14 which meant South Africa won the series 2–0 with 1 game drawn. Care scored England's only try early in the first half and was named man of the match. In July 2012 Care was named in the England Elite Player Squad for the forthcoming season. In August 2012 Care agreed a 3-year contract extension with Harlequins, committing himself to the club until June 2016. Season 2012–13 Care's man of the match performance against South Africa in the final match of the summer tour meant that he retained the starting shirt for the opening game of the Autumn Internationals against Fiji. England won comfortably 54–12 despite Care being sin-binned midway through the first half for a tip-tackle on Leone Nakarawa. Care started the game the following week against Australia but England produced a disappointing performance and lost 20–14. There were 6 changes for the next game against South Africa with Care moving to the bench and Ben Youngs taking the starting shirt, England lost narrowly 16–15. Care remained on the bench for the final game of the series against reigning world champions New Zealand. England beat New Zealand 38–21, their first win over the All Blacks in 9 years and only their seventh victory in the history of the fixture. Care made significant contributions off the bench in the second half of both the South Africa & New Zealand games. Ben Youngs retained the starting shirt for the opening game of the 2013 RBS 6 Nations championship against