Youngs can only make the bench for Challenge Cup final
ENGLAND scrum-half Ben Youngs has been dropped to the bench for Leicester’s European Challenge Cup final with Montpellier tonight.
Veteran Richard Wigglesworth is preferred at nine by head coach Steve Borthwick in four changes made to the team which beat Harlequins in the Gallagher Premiership last weekend.
Tommy Reffell joins Youngs among the replacements, but George Martin and Matt Scott miss out completely while Cyle Brink, Hanro Liebenberg and Matias Moroni are recalled to the XV.
Borthwick said: “It has been a squad-wide effort to get to this final, with more than 40 players representing Leicester Tigers in the European Challenge Cup this season.
“On Friday night, these 23 players have the privilege of representing everyone involved at Tigers, our supporters and Leicestershire.”
Wigglesworth also got the nod for Leicester’s semi-final win over Ulster and Youngs is one of three backs on the bench in a four-three split by Borthwick.
Montpellier elect to start Saracens loan player Alex Lozowski at fly-half over World Cup winner Handre Pollard, who has to settle for a place on the bench after only returning from an ACL injury this month.
Coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made two changes from the lastfour win over Bath with Jan Serfontein and Fulgence Ouedraogo able to return.
» Australia has officially launched its bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
The country, which co-hosted the inaugural event in 1987 with New Zealand before holding it outright in 2003, announced its campaign at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sydney Harbour.
Luminaries of the Australian game including two-time World Cup winners John Eales and Phil Kearns attended the launch on what Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan called “an exciting day for all Australians”.
“Hosting Rugby World Cup 2027 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australia, which would drive substantial economic outcomes for our country, while also providing a lasting legacy for rugby in this region,” said McLennan.
The country’s bid guide, titled Game On, anticipates two million attendees, including 200,000 international visitors, for 48 matches held at eight to ten venues across seven weeks. World Rugby is expected to decide on the tournament’s host in May 2022.