Quantcast
Channel: Leicester Mercury Latest Stories Feed
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Brothers Ben and Tom Youngs in 'long-term' Leicester Tigers deal

0
0

Two of Leicester Tigers' most prized assets have signed "long-term" extended deals.

Brothers Ben, 23 and Tom Youngs, 25, have committed their future to the club after putting pen to paper on new contracts.

The news is a huge boost for Tigers, who were keen to attract the players' signatures before January 1.

After that date, other English clubs are allowed to make official approaches to any players in the last six months of their contract, like Tom and Ben.

It is likely that both men would have received some big-money offers to leave Welford Road.

Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said they were players the club would be "built around" in the future after tying up their services.

"It is excellent news that both Tom and Ben have agreed new deals with us," he said. "They are both very important to the club.

"They have grown up in a Leicester Tigers family, their dad Nick played for the club, they know the history of this place and they have come all the way through the Academy system here before establishing themselves as key first-team players.

"It shows players can come through the Academy and get to the top of the game.

"Ben and Tom both have an excellent attitude to their work, but they also have an emotional attachment to the club.

"Any side that wants to be successful needs to have a core group of players that have an attachment to the club that is not just about the money.

"That is key for the culture of the club.

"Both Tom and Ben are the kind of players we want to build the club around for the next five or six years."

The siblings are both away on England duty and expected to play against South Africa, at Twickenham, on Saturday.

Hailing from a farm in Norfolk, Ben and Tom have worked their way through the Tigers Academy and have already made 142 appearances between them for Leicester.

Ben has been on a unstoppable rise at scrum-half since making his debut as a 17-year-old, in February 2007. He has played in four Premiership finals.

Tom, meanwhile, began his life as a big-hitting centre before he was advised by the now South Africa head coach, Heyneke Meyer, to reinvent himself as a hooker in 2009.

That began a long and winding road for Tom, who is likely to make a third start for his country on Saturday against a team coached by the very man who instructed him to begin that journey.

Brothers Ben and Tom Youngs  in 'long-term' Leicester Tigers deal


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images