Evergreen Youngs still terrorising Australia – 11 years after maiden try
Scrum-half will be tackling the Wallabies for a 17th time and has proved a constant thorn in their side from day one
hengland
Nic White, the Australia scrum-half, is racking his brains for memories of facing Ben Youngs. After a while, he concedes defeat. “It’s been a long time since I played England,” he says. “And, jeez, I wouldn’t have too many great ones of that quarter-final. That’s all I can think back to, mate!”
White is referencing 2019, when the Wallabies were dumped out of the World Cup following a 40-16 thrashing. His tone is apologetic, but he is not alone among his countrymen. Very few will have fond recollections of taking on Youngs, who will play his 17th Test against Australia on Saturday. It is a tally that draws him level with Alun Wyn Jones and Brian O’driscoll.
So far, Youngs has already been part of 12 victories over the Wallabies with England and the British Lions. By comparison, Jones and O’driscoll can boast five each.
While compiling such a record, which is extremely impressive, Youngs has accrued a portfolio of seminal moments that have shaped Anglo-antipodean clashes.
Eleven years ago, for instance, came his maiden Test try on the occasion of his first senior international start.
Seventeen minutes into the second game of a two-match series Down Under, England hooker Steve Thompson fed Tom Croft at a fourman line-out around 30 metres from Australia’s try line. Those names only serve to reinforce their team-mate’s longevity.
The ball was transferred to Youngs, who sold a dummy to an obliging Dean Mumm and set off into an open stretch of Sydney real estate. Drew Mitchell, the defending wing, could not lay a hand on him.
Indeed, the next Wallaby to touch Youngs was Will Genia. But only after the try had been scored.
Genia tracked back and roughly ruffled the hair of his opposite number, a gesture that combined resignation and respect in the heat of battle. Six months later, having turned 21, Youngs was named man of the match in a 35-18 win over Australia. Alert and opportunistic all afternoon, he provided the spark that lit Chris Ashton’s iconic, lengthof-the-field score.
Youngs had dummied a box-kick from the base of a ruck under the shadow of his own posts, foxing
Quade Cooper before feeding Courtney Lawes.
Fast-forward through to that quarter-final in 2019, and Youngs made vital contributions in the front line of defence as Michael Cheika’s charges challenged England in some frantic early exchanges.
In between times, he has proved to be a constant thorn in the side of those wearing green and gold.
Youngs started all three episodes of the 2016 “Bodyline” whitewash under Eddie Jones, and then scored from a quick tap penalty when England and Australia returned for their fourth encounter of that year in December at Twickenham.
This time, both Nick Phipps and
‘There are other nines, like Dupont, with X-factor, but guys like Ben and Aaron Smith have the runs on the board’
Bernard Foley doled out the cash to purchase a trademark dummy.
There have been blots on the copybook, notably a gruesome 33-13 loss that ended England’s 2015 World Cup campaign, yet Youngs does appear to be something of a bogeyman for the Wallabies.
He and Owen Farrell are the only men to have started each of the seven consecutive triumphs over Australia that Jones has guided.
“I think with Ben, one thing I’ve always admired about him is that he is super-consistent,” adds White, previously of Exeter Chiefs. “He has some really amazing performances, but for the most part they are really good – and he just never has a bad one. He’s sitting there in the middle the whole time.
“He’s a guy that has played over 100 Tests for his country and over a decade in the Prem, which I know is pretty tough going with long seasons. He’s always there.”
Youngs cannot be blamed for England’s apparent lack of succession planning – or, perhaps more accurately, Jones’s patent lack of trust in other options – at scrumhalf. Admirably, the Leicester Tiger has often been forthcoming and genuine in praise of peers, from
Danny Care via Dan Robson to club protege Jack van Poortvliet.
With both Harry Randall and Raffi Quirke injured, Alex Mitchell came off the bench and made a lively, try-scoring debut last Saturday against Tonga.
But Youngs had helped soften up the visitors, registering a pair of solo finishes himself.
Twenty tries and 112 Test appearances, including two for the Lions, now decorate his career.
There is a sense that England need to bed in at least one new face at scrum-half before 2023.
That said, if they achieve their aim of generating quick ruck ball more consistently, and keep the ball in hand to make the most of it, Youngs will be sticking around.
“If he’s having a bad day, it’s still a good day,” White says, expanding on his appreciation of Youngs’ permanence. “If he has a good day, it’s a great day.
“There are other nines out there, like [Antoine] Dupont, with X-factor, but it’s guys like Ben Youngs and Aaron Smith that have the runs on the board.
“They’ve been consistent over a long period. That’s no easy feat at Test level.”