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The man who will 'clap harder than anyone' when Ben Youngs breaks cap record
Jason Leonard will be Ben Youngs’ loudest cheerleader at Twickenham on Saturday as he urges the England scrum-half to savour a landmark achievement.
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Youngs, 32, will surpass Leonard to becomes the country’s most capped male player when he steps off the bench and makes his 115th appearance in the Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales.
The Leicester scrum-half will reach the milestone in front of a 82,000 sell-out crowd 12 years after running on for his debut against Scotland.
Former Lions prop Leonard, who retains close ties with the game as an administrator and speaker having retired in 2004, feels only warmth for his successor in waiting as England’s most enduring player.
“I’ll be at Twickenham and I’ll be clapping harder than anyone in the West Stand when Ben comes on. It will be a great achievement,” Leonard told the PA news agency.
“To do it in front of a home crowd is amazing and I’m pretty sure that Twickenham will go absolutely nuts in celebration – and rightly so.
“I know Ben and his brother Tom, and their old man Nick, who used to play scrum-half for England himself back in the day. So I know the family and a nicer guy than Ben you couldn’t wish for.
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“A record is there to be broken. Never, ever, did I think that this would be here for all eternity. It was always a case that it’s going to happen, so the question was when really.
“Ben has been such a great international player for over a decade now and he’s an absolute credit to the game, his club, his country, his family and his friends.
“The scary but positive thing is that he’s still got two or three years of rugby left in him. He’s not finished yet.”
Leonard eclipsed Rory Underwood’s milestone of 85 England appearances in 2000 but Youngs is the only other man from these shores to join him in the ranks of rugby’s Test centurions.
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“The record has been very special and it still will be when Ben beats it. But it was never about the record, it’s not something I coveted,” Leonard said.
'Oranges were thrown. We found an empty whiskey bottle had landed on the pitch followed by a pair of scissors. The largest object was a Victorian bath tap.'
In April, @chrisjonespress ??? caught up with @JasonLeonard114 to recall his debut 30 years agohttps://t.co/nzkZ6yf2lf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 25, 2020
“In the era I started playing for England, if you got more than 30 caps you were considered a success.
“The greatest prize I walked away with is not the records or accolades, but the memories and playing with your mates.
“Ben’s still got a couple of years left in the tank but he’ll know that he can’t carry on until his 40s, that’s just not going to happen.
“It’s a case of going out and enjoying the moment, while also concentrating on his performance. And you can’t take it for granted because you’re one injury away from retirement.
“You do generally try to enjoy every second of it because you know it could end tomorrow and that you’re a long time retired.”
Youngs has been reunited in the England camp with his old Leicester head coach Richard Cockerill, who now oversees the forwards.
Cockerill’s playing career ended at Welford Road two seasons before Youngs’ began in 2007 but with the former hooker moving into a coaching role, they continued to work together until his departure in 2017.
“As a 17-year-old Ben took teams by surprise, scored a few tries and won us games by his pace and his eye for a gap. He could score a try from nowhere and his show and go was pretty unbelievable,” Cockerill said.
“Clearly he’s developed his game significantly since then. His raw energy, pace and ability to naturally find space was very, very good.
“His kicking is as good as anybody’s in the world. At the start of his career that was a work on for him but that’s now as good as any nine in world rugby. He’s stayed with the modern game.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll set the World Cup as an aim and reassess after that. There are guys who are playing into their mid 30s and beyond, so why not Ben?”
Comments on RugbyPass
Yawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
22 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to comments