Thomas Nicholas Youngs (born 28 January 1987) is a retired
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
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 selected 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 series against Australia, and matches against the five Australian Super Rugby sides, a ...
where he played in all three test matches. He played 215 times for Leicester between 2006 and 2021, winning the
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
title in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, the same season that he was named as the league's Player of the season. He also won the
2011-12 Anglo-Welsh Cup with Leicester. Between 2009 and 2011 Youngs played 55 matches for
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
where he converted from
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
to
hooker.
Background
Youngs is the son of former Leicester and England scrum-half
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 ...
, and the elder brother of current Leicester and England scrum-half
Ben Youngs.
Originally a
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
, Youngs changed to play at
hooker after advice from then Tigers' coach
Heyneke Meyer.
Youngs played for
Gresham's School and for England Schools, and also for
Holt as a junior.
Club career
Youngs made his Tigers debut against
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
on Boxing Day 2006, broke his leg after five minutes and came off after thirteen.
In the 2008/09 season, when he was persuaded to switch to hooker he was used by new head Coach
Richard Cockerill in the Leicester "A" team as a hooker.
In the 2010-2011 season he was loaned to the Leicester feeder club
Nottingham R.F.C. where he was first choice hooker.
Youngs started the 2013 Premiership final, alongside his brother Ben, as Leicester defeated Northampton Saints.
At the start of the 2016-17 season he was announced as club captain for the Tigers, replacing lock Ed Slater after being injured for nearly half of the previous season.
After taking indefinite leave during the 2021/22 season to care for his wife during illness, Youngs announced his retirement on 27 April 2022.
International career
In 2007-08, Youngs was a member of the
England squad at
Rugby sevens.
On England's summer tour to South Africa in 2012, Youngs was taken as part of the main touring squad for experience. He played in the midweek games and his performances led to him being touted as a future England starting hooker.
Due to an injury to England's first-choice hooker
Dylan Hartley and the earlier retirement of second-choice
Lee Mears
Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979 in Torquay) is an Executive Leadership Coach. He proudly represented England playing rugby between 2004 and 2013. He earned 42 Cap played in two world cups and played for the British and Irish Lions on the 2009 tour ...
, Youngs was awarded the number 2 shirt for England's first 2012 Autumn International match against
Fiji, and was joined on the pitch by substitute brother Ben. The Youngs brothers became the second family to have a father and two sons play for England after
Sir William Milton and his sons
Jumbo
Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...
and
Cecil. An impressive performance meant that he retained the shirt for the second test.
Youngs was named as part of the victorious Lions squad 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 series against Australia, and matches against the five Australian Super Rugby sides, a ...
.
Youngs was named in
Stuart Lancaster's 31- man squad for the
2015 Rugby World Cup and went on to start all 4 games as hooker. He was controversially overlooked for the Six Nations
by new coach
Eddie Jones and then was injured for the Summer tour of Australia. He was overlooked again for the 2016 Autumn Internationals and was not chosen for Jones' 45 EPS Squad for the Six Nations with skipper Dylan Hartley as first-choice,
Jamie George
Jamie Edward George (born 20 October 1990) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Premiership Rugby club Saracens and the England national team.
Early life
George played for local team Hertford Rugby Foo ...
as second choice and
Tommy Taylor
Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster.
Career
Taylor was born in Smithies, ...
as third choice.
References
External links
Leicester profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youngs, Tom
1987 births
Living people
Rugby union players from Norwich
English rugby union players
England international rugby union players
Leicester Tigers players
Bedford Blues players
People educated at Gresham's School
Nottingham R.F.C. players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
Rugby union hookers