Benjamin Ryder Youngs (born 5 September 1989) is a former English professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played as a scrum-half for

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

club

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

, and is the all time appearance record holder with 127 caps for the men’s

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

. He made his club debut at 17 in 2007 and in 2010 made his debut for England; in 2022 he became England men’s most capped player with 115 appearances subsequently earning 127 in total. He started the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final and toured Australia with the Lions in 2013. Youngs has been a

champion five times, winning in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Early life

Youngs was born 5 September 1989 in

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. His older brother

Tom Youngs Thomas Nicholas Youngs (born 28 January 1987) is a retired rugby union player who played as a hooker for Leicester Tigers and England. Between 2012–2015 he won 28 caps for , including selection for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and was select ...

is also a rugby player, for

as a hooker. His father

Nick Youngs Nicholas Gerald Youngs (born 15 December 1959) is an English former rugby union footballer who played for Bedford, Leicester Tigers and England, at Scrum-half, gaining six England caps in 1983–1984. He also was an unused England reserve fi ...

played scrum-half for both Leicester and England. Youngs is married to Charlotte. They have two children, son Boris and daughter Billie.

Club career

Youngs made his Leicester Tigers first team début on 11 February 2007 in a friendly match against Argentina at Welford Road, the match marked

Graham Rowntree Graham Christopher Rowntree (born 18 April 1971) is an English rugby union former player and former head coach of Irish club Munster. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite havin ...

's final Leicester appearance. On 24 April 2007 at the age of 17 years and 231 days he became Leicester's youngest ever player used in a

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

match when he came off the bench against

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. Later that season, he played in the final of the 2006–07 Guinness Premiership. Youngs played 10 games for Leicester in the 2007–08 season, principally whilst

Harry Ellis Harry Alistair Ellis (born 17 May 1982) is an English former rugby union footballer who played scrum half for Leicester Tigers, England and the British & Irish Lions. In July 2010, Ellis announced his retirement from the game as a result of ...

was injured. Despite starting only 2 games, but featuring in 17, Youngs finished third in the 2008–09 Guinness Premiership Discovery of the Season award and won the club's player's young player of the year award. Youngs was instrumental in Leicester's 22–17 defeat of the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

in a tour match on 6 November 2009 kicking 17 points. He was able to establish himself as first choice in 2009–10 season starting 23 games. In February 2010, Youngs signed a new contract. His teammates voted him Leicester Tigers Player of the Season for 2009/10. In a season littered with awards, he also picked up the Land Rover Discovery of the Season award. He crowned off the season by playing in the 2009–10 Guinness Premiership final victory over

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, scoring a try in the process. Youngs has also played in losing Premiership finals in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, as well as starting in the

final where Leicester defeated

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

to seal their 10th English championship. On 8 April 2017 in a game against

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Youngs made his 200th appearance for Leicester. Following Leicester's home game with

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Youngs was presented with an engraved silver picture frame in recognition of the feat. Youngs made his 250th appearance for Leicester Tigers on 13 September 2020 in a match against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

played at an empty Welford Road Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Youngs scored a try in a 28–24 win for Leicester. Youngs played as a replacement in the 2022 Premiership Rugby final as Tigers beat

15-12. In 2024, he underwent a two-hour open heart surgery operation to treat

supraventricular tachycardia Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is an umbrella term for fast heart rhythms arising from the upper part of the heart. This is in contrast to the other group of fast heart rhythms – ventricular tachycardia, which start within the lower cham ...

and another unspecified

arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the cardiac cycle, heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – ab ...

, conditions he had been suffering from for some time, after collapsing during a game in Leicester's stadium. In April 2025, he announced his decision to retire from the professional game at the end of the 2024–25 season.

International career

England

Youngs has played for England U-16, U-18 and in March 2008 was a member of the England under-20 team that won the grand slam. Later that month, Youngs made his debut for the England Sevens team at the

Hong Kong sevens The Hong Kong Sevens ( zh, t=香港國際七人欖球賽, link=no) is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competiti ...

. Youngs played in the final of both the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repl ...

. and

2009 IRB Junior World Championship The 2009 IRB Junior World Championship (known as the 2009 IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaces the now de ...

. He was selected for the revised England Saxons Squad on 13 January 2010, and upgraded to the revised Senior Squad as injury cover for

on 25 January 2010. Later that month, he made his debut for the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emerg ...

, against Ireland A. Youngs made his senior England debut as a substitute on the wing for the injured

Ugo Monye Ugochukwu Chiedozie Monye (born 13 April 1983) is an English former rugby union player who is now a sports pundit. Monye played 14 times for , 241 times for his only club Harlequins and twice for the British & Irish Lions on their 2009 tour ...

in the

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between teams of England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy con ...

match against on 13 March 2010, and was an unused replacement in the match against . He continued as part of the senior squad on their tour of Australia, and played in both Test matches. Youngs made his first international start in England's 21 – 20 win over in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, on 19 June 2010. He played an important role in improving the England gameplan in the game, and scored a solo try in the first half. On 13 November 2010, Youngs was awarded man of the match award for his outstanding performance against Australia. Youngs continued to be a steadfast member of the England squad, including call ups for the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. After Eddie Jones replaced Stuart Lancaster as England head coach after the 2015 RWC, Youngs continued to play a crucial role in the England squad, being one of two ever-present scrum-halves, along with

Danny Care Daniel Stuart Care (born 2 January 1987) is an English professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team. Early life Care was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He ...

. Youngs played in all but one (vs Uruguay) of England's record-equaling run of 18 consecutive wins, starting 15 of them. This run included the 2016 Grand Slam achieved through a win against the French in Paris, avenging the defeat to Ireland in a match of similar importance in 2011, in addition to being part of the side that secured a 3-0 series triumph against Australia only a couple of months after the tournament ended. Later in the year, he put in some of his most memorable performances against South Africa and again against Australia in that year's Autumn Internationals, scoring and assisting several tries using his trademark show-and-go off the base of a ruck. Youngs was part of further Six Nations victories in 2017 and 2020, scoring two tries in the 2020 title decider against Italy to mark his 100th cap in style. Youngs is only the second Englishman to reach this number after Jason Leonard, and immediately went on to win a further four caps in the inaugural Amazon Autumn Nations Cup as England secured their second piece of silverware of the year. Youngs has said that the enforced break from rugby due to the Coronavirus crisis left him refreshed and recharged, and has stated his aim is to be a part of the England team for the 2023 World Cup in France, which would mark his fourth such tournament having been a part of the 2011, 2015 and 2019 squads. On 26 February 2022, Youngs became England's most capped international player, surpassing

Jason Leonard Jason Leonard (born 14 August 1968) is an English former rugby union player. He won a then-record 114 caps for England men’s rugby team during a 14-year international career. A prop, Leonard played club rugby for Barking RFC, Saracens and H ...

's record of 114 caps. On 7 August 2023, Youngs was named in England's squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

. He announced his retirement shortly before winning his 127th cap against Argentina in the third place playoff.

British & Irish Lions

In April 2013, Youngs was announced as one of three scrum-halves for the

2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-Test match (rugby union), test series against Australia national rugby union team, Austra ...

alongside Mike Phillips and

Conor Murray Gerard Conor Murray (born 20 April 1989) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster. He is set to leave at the end of the season. Early life Murray was born in Limerick, where he atten ...

. He made 2 capped appearances, off the bench for the first test in Brisbane, and then starting the second test in Melbourne alongside his brother

. He also made uncapped appearances against 5 provincial sides, scoring 2 tries. Youngs was again selected as one of the three scrum-halves in April 2017 for the

2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland na ...

, alongside previous tourist

and newcomer

Rhys Webb Rhys Webb (born 9 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend and Aberavon before breaking into the regional side in 2008. ...

, with

teammate Dan Cole also being selected again. However, on 6 May 2017, Youngs withdrew himself from the tour party due to family reasons and was replaced by

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

international

Greig Laidlaw Greig Laidlaw (born 12 October 1985) is a Scottish former professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half and as a fly-half. Laidlaw holds the record for most caps as captain, 39, of the Scottish national team. He also represented ...

Career statistics

List of international tries

Honours

;British & Irish Lions * 1× Test Series Win:

;England *

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

runners-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

third place:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

; Leicester Tigers *

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

runner-up:

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

runner-up:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

*
Official Website

RFU Profile

Leicester Tigers Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youngs, Ben 1989 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union players from Norwich Leicester Tigers players Rugby union scrum-halves People educated at Gresham's School England international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players