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'We all s**t ourselves because Tom Youngs was there'

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ex-Leicester teammates Jim Hamilton and Andy Goode have recalled the botched robbery simulation of the Tigers academy house that resulted in Tom Youngs coming out swinging and Will Skinner apparently spending the night in the company of the Leicestershire constabulary. The Rugby Pod co-hosts were paying tribute to the 35-year-old Youngs who bade farewell at Welford Road last Saturday after announcing last week that he was retiring with immediate effect. 

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Hamilton and Goode were effusive in their praise for the now ex-Leicester hooker – but they also told a crazy story at their own expense which illustrated the toughness and defiance of Youngs throughout his rugby career. 

The podcast duo were Leicester first-teamers in the noughties and a plan was hatched to pay a visit to the house that accommodated the academy players to give them the fright of their lives. However, the would-be fake robbers failed to factor into their plans the presence of a rather tempestuous Youngs.

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The Academy – Part One

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The Academy – Part One

Unlike some other academy players who were fooled by the burglars, Youngs wasn’t having any of it and his angry reaction put a brisk end to the stitch-up for fear that someone would wind up in hospital. Here is how the story of a quite outrageous caper unfold on the show when it was put to Hamilton and Goode that Youngs nearly sparked them out:  

Hamilton: I’d love to say it was Goodey, it was actually everyone that was involved in a robbery simulation that went wrong. 

Goode: We definitely need the word simulation in there because it wasn’t a real robbery. We did hire a van, we did put balaclavas on, we did get in camo gear, we did rock up to the academy house and think these lads are too chopsy, we are going to basically frighten the life out of them and what happened was we all s**t ourselves because Tom Youngs was there. 

Hamilton: We didn’t realise Tom Youngs was going to be as angry as he was and basically believe the balaclavas were real burglars. I blame Will Skinner. Will Skinner has turned up in this van, we have all jumped out the back, we have stormed the house, we have gone in there like, ‘We are going to rob the house’. Dan Cole is in there, he didn’t really flinch but he looked a bit scared like he was shaking. Ben Youngs was screaming and then we just went into the kitchen and there is Tom Youngs and literally, he is like a raging bull to the point that Goodey gave it all away. He lifted up his mask but Tom was like ‘let’s be having you’ or something like that and we were like, ‘Youngsy, please don’t’. 

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Goode: He’d have basically put about six of us in the hospital. I have never seen anything like it. Some of the boys were literally crying, saying, ‘You can have whatever you want, I’m so sorry’. Youngsy came out swinging.

Hamilton: I remember going in and I was like, ‘Take the kit bag’ and Coley is like, ‘You can have the kit bag’. Where are the watches? But Dan Cole didn’t spend any money so he didn’t have any watches. But the funny thing about that was it went wrong and the police then turned up and Will Skinner got locked up for a day or so. God, they were good times at Leicester.

Earlier in the segment, Hamilton and Goode paid tribute to Youngs on the back of last Saturday’s Leicester farewell at home to Bristol. “Seeing Tom Youngs bring the match ball out, lead the team out, we have seen some sights at Leicester but that was one of the most emotional sights I have seen not being at a game,” said Hamilton.

“I could feel the emotion watching it on social media, which generally isn’t a thing, because I know how good a lad he is. Legend gets thrown about all the time, but Tom Youngs would be close to the top of that list. Not just as a player, as a bloke but also everything we know that he is going through… you’re a f**king legend mate. He is going to be a real loss for the game.”

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Goode added: “I played in that game when he broke his leg and I was like, ‘Get up mate, what’s wrong?’ ‘I broke my leg’. I was like, ‘Get off’ and he was like, ‘F**k off, Goodey, I’m staying on’. Hardest bloke I have ever met, the nicest guy, an unbelievable teammate who would go to the ends of the earth for his fellow teammate.

“He was a privilege to play with and a horror show to play against when he came running around the corner off the nine trying to find a ten to run over. He was a wonderful player, a wonderful bloke and it was so emotionally charged at the weekend seeing the scenes. It was spine-tingling to watch it.” 

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people on podcasts criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section. There seems to be a whole department dedicated to Ireland’s world ranking news.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting decent airtime. But for the rest and the above; it’s just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section. People like Finn (who I believe is a RP contributor).


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

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