‘England and Tigers scrum-half Youngs doesn’t get all the credit he deserves’
GEORGE Ford has launched a staunch defence of his Leicester Tigers and England team-mate Ben Youngs – claiming “people won’t know what they’ve got until he’s gone”.
Youngs was the recipient of congratulatory words and the subject of approving headlines last weekend on the occasion of his 250th club appearance.
The 31-year-old rose to the occasion, scoring an early try in the 28-24 defeat of East Midlands rivals Northampton Saints.
Ford, 27, sat out of the Welford Road encounter resting a minor injury but is arguably the person best placed to reflect upon his colleague’s contribution, both on and off the pitch.
They’ve pulled on the green, red and white together since 2009, either side of Ford’s fourseason spell at Bath, and have started 39 England Test matches together, winning 32 of those games.
“It’s incredible, absolutely incredible,” said Ford, who has 69 England caps.
“When you look at his career, he’s obviously done that for his club, but he’s got 99 caps for England, he’s been on Lions tours.
“I always think to play at that level consistently at the very, very top of his game and to maintain it is an incredible thing to do.
“That’s the thing with Ben, he’s managed to do that.
“Over the past few years I’ve managed to play quite a fair amount of those games with him.
“The way he has maintained his level to play at that level is pretty impressive.
“I think he will tell you he’s still got a little bit left in him as well. It’s a pleasure to play with him.”
Ford’s words echoed many sentiments regarding the loyal Tigers servant’s achievements.
But it has also ignited the debate regarding Youngs’ international future, with the Autumn Nations Cup looming large.
A topic of discussion fuelled, in part, by the scintillating club form of 28-year-olds Dan Robson and Ben Spencer at Wasps and Bath respectively.
Then there is the emerging talents of Exeter’s Jack Maunder, 23, Harry Randall, 22, at Bristol Bears and his opponent last weekend, Saints’ Alex Mitchell, 23.
There’s even competition from within the Tigers camp in Ben White.
The 22-year-old has been tipped by many to follow in Ben’s footsteps and progress on to achieve international honours.
Ford, appearing in an online media session ahead of Tigers’ European Challenge Cup quarter-final in Toulon on Saturday, provided an impassioned minute-long answer to the simple question as to whether he thinks Youngs is “under appreciated”.
“Yeah I do,” he promptly replied. “100 per cent. The thing is, it’s easy to comment and go after someone like Ben who has played 99 times for his country.
“He started the majority of games, but for some reason, people out there want to be the one to try and knock him off, and say there’s other people better than him.
“Sometimes you’ve got to appreciate what he’s done and what he is still doing.
“I think it’s incredible.
“I think it’ll be a case with Ben that people won’t know what they’ve got, in terms of at Leicester and England, until he’s gone.
“Because he has got that much experience, it’s not just the 80 minutes at the weekend, it’s what he does in the week. How he influences people. That’s what people don’t see.
“And rightly so, just judge the 80 minutes at the weekend, which I think he played very well anyway – there always seems to be somebody better out there for some reason, but I can’t quite understand it.”