It’s up to me now to make sure I take the chance as best I can, says Young
THOMAS Young has never played at the Principality Stadium, but he has run out with the Wales team there.
Mind you, he was only nine at the time!
That was in October 2001 when he was the mascot, along with his brothers Owen and Lewis, to mark his dad Dai’s 50th cap.
The three of them were alongside the old man, who was captain at the time, as he led Wales out against Ireland in a Six Nations match postponed until the autumn because of a Foot and Mouth outbreak.
“That’s my earliest memory of the stadium,” said Young.
“The three of us all ran out with little red shirts on.
“It was good for us as a family and a proud moment for us all.
“I remember the noise of running out. That sticks in the memory for sure, just how noisy it was.”
Now, aged 29, Young will finally get to step out on the stadium as a player, having been selected on the openside flank for Wales’ match against Fiji on Sunday.
“I have obviously been there to watch a few games over the years, so I am aware of what the atmosphere is like.
“But I’ve never played there, not even at club level.
“I think I trained on the pitch once, maybe.
“So it’s the first one there for me. “My cousin has played there more than me and he doesn’t let me live that down.
“He played in a District Schools cup final. He is coming on the weekend, so hopefully he can stop talking about it!
“I think there will be a fair crowd of my family going.
“Everyone says how good it is to play there and just like the atmosphere around the place, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
It will be all the sweeter for Young as it will be his first outing for Wales in 33 months.
For much of that time, he was ineligible under the WRU’s 60-cap rule.
Despite not having had an offer from a Welsh region, he fell victim to the regulation when he signed a contract extension with Wasps in May 2020.
In the eyes of many, he was hard done by, so how did he deal with it?
“I obviously knew the situation I would be in when I re-signed,” he said.
“But, as frustrating as it was, I had to get my head around it.
“I just had to take it on the chin and get on with it.
“I had to look at it positively and think I was at a good club and to make sure I played well to stay in the team.
“My focus just completely changed. It was a case of ‘I can’t do anything about that, so what’s the point in moping around about it?’.
“It didn’t stop me from striving. “I pushed myself in everything I did, in training, playing.”
But now, everything has changed. Having opted to re-join his dad Dai at Cardiff next season, he was given special dispensation to play for Wales again
and included in Wayne Pivac’s autumn international squad. “Obviously it was nice,” he says. “I didn’t know much about it really. I didn’t understand what was going on until I spoke to Wayne on the odd occasion.
“Then I found out it had been approved and I got selected in the squad, which I was very happy about.
“I am over the moon, if I am honest.
“A month ago, I didn’t think it was on the cards. I wouldn’t have expected it to happen.
“I am really excited about it and it’s up to me now to make sure I take the opportunity as best I can.”
Young has been with Wasps since 2014, having linked up with his father there after a brief spell with Gloucester following his departure from Cardiff Blues.
Now he will be heading back to the Arms Park come the end of this season.
“It’s something that happened quite quickly, so it kind of took the over-thinking out of it,” he said.
“I have been at Wasps for eight years and kind of grown up there. I’ve got a lot of friends and a lot of respect for everyone at the club.
“It will be tough to leave, but it’s something I had to do.
“I think I am at a stage where if I didn’t decide to come back, it would be a missed opportunity.
“It’s about having no regrets, I suppose.
“Everyone says it, that everyone wants to play for their country growing up.
“I knew staying in England I couldn’t do that.
“It’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to come home.”
As he prepares to win his fourth cap, more than four years after his Test debut, what has been the message to him from Pivac?
“Play, I suppose,” he said. “Wayne hasn’t put too much pressure on me at all.
“He has basically just said go out and enjoy it and do what you do week-in, week-out at club level.
“So hopefully I can transfer that to the international set-up.”
Young will be one of three opensides in the back row, along with Ellis Jenkins and Taine Basham, while there are a host of other contenders for the No.7 jersey moving forward.
“I’m not stupid, I know the calibre of players that are in Wales and the competition, especially in the back row,” he said.
“I am aware of the circumstances I am in and that I’ve got to play well.
“I suppose competition drives everyone on.
“Taine has played very well over the last couple of weeks and that’s without Tipuric and Josh Navidi being in the squad.
“So we are all aware that we’ve got to play well.”