Rugby World Cup: Englishman Ben Youngs’ tribute to Dimitri Yachvili

Ben Youngs, the iconic English scrum-half, will honor his 128th and final selection with the XV de la Rose on Friday, at the age of 34, during the Rugby World Cup small final, Friday (9 p.m.) , against Argentina. Before the match, the Leicester player spoke about his memories in the England jersey. He made this confession: “I have exchanged quite a few jerseys which have a great sentimental value for me, like that of Dimitri Yachvili whom I admired when I was little and whom I was able to face when we played France in 2011. Aaron Smith, (Antoine) Dupont, (Conor) Murray. It was a great adventure. I will be able to decorate my office in style.”

He also looked back on his best memories with England: “The semi-final against New Zealand (during the 2019 World Cup, Editor’s note), certainly the best collective performance in which I participated. There was the Grand Slam in Paris in 2016 too and the victory against Ireland in the 2019 Six Nations. Those are my favorite victories. But beating Australia and beating them 3-0 at home is something special too.”

And added on his greatest moment with the XV de la Rose: “It’s complicated, there are plenty of them. I would say playing with my brother Tom was huge. Even when I wasn't at my best, I continued to play for England. The fact of playing even when things are not going well off the field, to pass 100 caps and to be part of this group, it is unique. You have to be able to stay consistent in a hypercompetitive position, it's hard. (...) I have known four selectors with England (Martin Johnson, Stuart Lancaster, Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick, Editor's note), all of them chose me. It's beautiful, because all coaches always have a favorite player and different ambitions. But the fact of having been called by the four proves that I brought something.”