“When you first burst on to the scene you don’t understand the consequences of playing week-to-week rugby – in terms of either the outcome or your own performance,” Ben Youngs says as he explains how his previously inconsistent career has steadied and then flourished with England over the past year. “As a youngster you run on the pitch, do your 20-minute cameo and love every minute of it. You just play and don’t realise what’s actually at stake.
“But then you spend a couple of years actually understanding what the game really means to you and so many people – and everything changes. It becomes a game of pressure and you start going over the consequences of everything. It can play on your mind and that’s when you get bogged down or distracted – which happened to me and to England.”
If we need to find a player to personify England over the past seven years it is easy to settle on Youngs. The scrum-half made an immediate impact in the Test arena in June 2010 when, starting an international for the first time, he produced an outstanding performance in Sydney as England beat Australia. Youngs looked confident and sharp, scoring an electrifying try, and he seemed to be the No9 England needed to unshackle themselves.
However, under two different England coaches in Martin Johnson and Stuart Lancaster, Youngs could not maintain such purpose and clarity. He sparkled sometimes, looked muddled on other occasions, and his obvious talent flickered sporadically. Youngs could celebrate selection for the series‑winning 2013 British & Irish Lions squad, and he started the second Test which Australia won, but those tangled emotions were followed by the worst slump of his career.
Exactly three years ago, in late January 2014, as England faced France in the opening match of the Six Nations, just as they do this week at the start of the 2017 tournament, Youngs was dropped from the squad. Danny Care and Lee Dickson were picked ahead of him and Youngs watched the game from his sofa. He fought his way back and, again just like England, promised to rectify everything with victory in the 2015 World Cup at home. But the tournament was even more embarrassing than the humiliation Youngs and England had endured four years earlier.
It is different now. A composed Youngs is at the heart of an England resurgence under Eddie Jones, during which they have won 14 Tests in a row. The scrum-half is a much more convincing international, who can now articulate the reasons for his sustained improvement.
“If you can find that middle ground of being fearless and not really worrying about the consequences, without forgetting what you need to do to win, you can be free from pressure. I look at some of the young guys we’ve now got with England and they have that fearlessness I had at the start. It inspires me to bring back some of that to my game. That’s how rugby should be. You should just play for the love of it – but, also, draw on lessons from the past.”
Youngs is in a relaxed mood and he cites his marriage to Charlotte and being a father to two young children as additional factors which have helped him to mature. After 65 Test caps for England, his career has moved to a higher level. The significance of Jones, such an uncluttered and inspiring coach, has been fundamental to bolstering the belief of both Youngs and England.
“I didn’t know Eddie at all before I met him early last year,” Youngs says. “He came with a huge reputation in terms of his coaching experience and everyone knew he’s a big personality in terms of his drive and desire to be brilliant. So, on the first day, we were all a little nervous. But I remember his first presentation and he spoke amazingly about how we should want to be the best team in the world – and that he believed we would do it. After that meeting I believed it totally as well. I just thought: ‘I want to play for this guy.’
“He had everyone completely engaged with him and as I left the room I felt very excited. Eddie and the coaches then came up with a clear structure of how we would go about it in an English style. He made it very easy to follow and all the boys bought into his vision.”
Youngs also confirms that, as adept as Jones is when addressing an entire squad, he is even better in individual encounters. “My first one‑to‑one meeting with Eddie was pretty memorable. We sat down and, at first, we just chatted and he gave me feedback on my game. When a new coach comes in you’re desperate to impress him and you take everything on board. But Eddie was very distinctive. One of the first things he said was that he wanted me to be lighter. He was exact. I was 92 kilos at that point and he said he wanted me at 88 kilos. There were no ifs or buts about it. I needed to lose some kilos. I said that was fine but then he surprised me.
“He threw a bag of sweets at me. I was a bit shocked but Eddie was very direct. He asked me if I wanted them and I said ‘No’. He smiled and said: ‘That’s a good start.’ I loved it because he was completely honest, completely transparent. He got the message across in a really good way. He said it loud and clear but in a nice way, with a humorous touch. It meant I had no doubts. The main thing is that he gave me a clear direction which said: ‘Right, this is what I need from you. Go away and do it.’ That’s what you want as a player. So for me that feedback was brilliant. I was like: ‘Right. OK, off we go.’ Jones recently said that he liked seeing a glimpse of Youngs’s cheekbones – and the 27-year-old has worked hard. “I had to tinker my use of weights, my fitness in terms of running and conditioning and pay even more attention to my diet. The great thing about being a professional is you are surrounded by so many experts with unbelievable experience and knowledge. You can tap into those guys and make a pretty quick transition.
“Everything just made sense. Once the bag of sweets got my attention Eddie spoke about the way the game is going these days. Everyone wants the game to be played at a faster pace and they want the ball back in play quicker, they want quicker rucks, lineouts and scrums.
“Rugby is now faster and more ferocious and you need to be so much fitter and able to make quick decisions. Your work rate also needs to be relentless whereas a couple of years ago players thought they could take the odd breather. Not any longer and that’s why there’s such an emphasis now on guys coming off the bench.”
Youngs was at his most impressive during the most recent Test England played – when, striving to equal the 2003 World Cup-winning team’s record 14 successive victories, they were abject for the first 20 minutes. Australia built a lead and, while his team-mates floundered, Youngs was a study in composure and calm. His play lifted England and, after a comfortable 37-21 win in the end, Youngs was the obvious man of the match. He sealed his display with a try but it was his poise and tactical thinking when England were adrift that mattered most.
“We were slow out the blocks,” he remembers. “But, as a half‑back, you have to try and control those moments when the team is under the pump. You have to recognise what’s going to get us back on the front foot. And in those first 20 or 30 minutes we had to turn back to a tactical kicking game. We were able to do that and get a foothold in the game.”
Youngs knows nothing is certain under Jones and playing France at Twickenham on Saturday is a reminder that, when the teams met last year, he did not start. “Eddie was very clear. He sat me down and said: ‘Look, I’m going with Danny [Care] because I think that he’s the best option for us to win this particular game.’ There was no messing around and I accepted it.
“Danny scored his try and then, when I came on, I made the break and grubber-kicked it to Anthony Watson who finished. So both Danny and I had a part in the victory. The whole Six Nations last year was a fantastic journey under Eddie. This year he’s already said to us: ‘You don’t defend your grand slam title. You go out to win it again.’ That’s going to be our attitude starting with France. I was quite impressed with some of their autumn performances and they pushed New Zealand pretty close. They’re growing under Guy Novès and they’ve got plenty of talent. The biggest thing with the French is they still rely a lot on their unstructured play. They could go very direct and then get one offload and suddenly 14 guys completely come alive. We’ll be making sure that they don’t do that very often.
“I know it’s a real cliche but Eddie really is a one-game-at-a-time man. We’re not talking about the grand slam now because Wales away is our second game – but, before then, the entire focus is on France. We know this first game will be massive.”
This year’s Six Nations is tinged with the lure of Lions selection for the tour of New Zealand. The battle between Youngs and Conor Murray, Ireland’s No9, is one of the most intriguing selection challenges for the Lions’ head coach, Warren Gatland. Murray, who is playing so well for Munster and Ireland, is marginally ahead of Youngs. But both men know that this tournament, which culminates in a clash between Ireland and England in Dublin on 18 March, could decide the starting berth at scrum-half for the Lions’ first Test. “I’ve obviously played twice this season against Conor and Munster. That first game was a tough day at the office for me and Leicester [Munster won 38-0]. You also have to say Conor’s been instrumental in how well Ireland have played lately. Looking at him against the All Blacks, especially when Ireland beat them in Chicago, he’s been outstanding.
“He’s also a top bloke. We caught up with each other after the first Munster game and had a joke about how we’ve been bombarded with questions about each other. But there are a lot of good nines. Rhys Webb is back from injury and he’s a real threat. Greig Laidlaw’s a brilliant goal kicker for Scotland, and that’s something none of us other nines can do, so we have our own skills.
“History says that the Six Nations has a big say in deciding who makes the Lions tour. But one thing I’ve learned under Eddie is that you can’t think too far ahead. Only the next game matters right now. That very clear thinking makes you a far more rounded player – and I now feel so much more sure of myself and the team.”
