The four players Ben Youngs expects to battle for the England No9 shirt

After a record 127 matches for England, and a further two for the British & Irish Lions, Ben Youngs bowed out of Test rugby at the end of the World Cup in the bronze medal final against Argentina.

The Leicester Tigers No9 started in the victory over the Pumas at the Stade de France to bring to an end his 13-year international career. Having been a staple of England squads during that period, his retirement will usher in a scramble to see who his successor will be.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has used Youngs sparingly since taking over the team last year, so the 34-year-old has seen the next generation of scrum-halves emerge in front of his eyes. As a guest on The Rugby Pod this week, Youngs listed the four players that he thinks will all compete for the white No9 jersey over the next World Cup cycle.

Marlie Packer reacts to winning WXV1 and World Player of the Year

Marlie Packer reacts to winning WXV1 and World Player of the Year

“In my opinion,” he said. “The next group that I think will contest for that No9 and No21 shirt will be Mitch [Alex Mitchell], JvP [Jack van Poorvliet], it’s going to be Raffi Quirke if he can just stay fit and get a run of games. I still think Harry Randall has a lot to give, he can be a real impactful player in terms of his busy-ness, the way he plays the game, speed of ball and everything like that.

“So I think those four really, and no doubt now to the next World Cup in four years there will be someone that will come through. There will be [someone] from another club as well. So right now, I look at those four and think they’ve got some really good talent there that will battle it out.”

Despite not originally being selected in England’s World Cup squad, Northampton Saints’ Mitchell finished the tournament as the first choice scrumhalf with another veteran Danny Care serving as his back-up. Mitchell took the place of Youngs’ Leicester teammate van Poortvliet, who sustained an ankle injury in the World Cup warm-ups.

Quirke and Randall have not been part of the Test scene for over a year now, with the 22-year-old Sale Sharks No9 Quirke earning the last of his two caps in autumn of 2021, while Bristol Bears’ Harry Randall earned the last of his six caps in the 2022 Six Nations.