LONG READ Retiring Care and Youngs leave worthy legacy to emerging England scrum-halves

So much for the era of teenage sporting sensations – the Luke Littlers and Lamine Yamals of this world, not so much prodigies as already achieving great things in their own right. And yet, Henry Pollock’s brash, brilliant rise to prominence apart, rugby shows that there is no trend towards whizz-kiddery, just a lovely age-old truism that it doesn’t matter how young or old you are, just how good you are.

What is now being said about Pollock was once being said about Ben Youngs, a precocious talent, the youngest ever in Leicester colours when making his senior debut in 2007, yet still here, still performing, still with sights set on the only thing that matters – winning – as he pursues a possible sixth Premiership title with the Tigers. Only then will he unlace his boots for the last time and head into retirement.

The fact that his greatest rival for the England No.9 shirt, Danny Care, has also just announced that this season will be his last (it had been expected that he would do another shift for Harlequins next season) means there is a distinct end-of-an-era feel to these closing weeks of the Premiership season and it’s fitting that two such accomplished and, for what its’s worth, pleasant as well as popular scrum-halves, should be bringing the curtain down at the same time.

Where once there was a trio of scrum-halves battling to get the England Test shirt – Matt Dawson, Kyran Bracken and Andy Gomarsall – so this has been a two-way shoot-out for over a decade, with advantage Youngs in the number of caps won – 129 (including two for the Lions) to 101 for Care. Phenomenal ledgers of achievement, all the more so given that a century of international appearances was once such a rarity. When Jason Leonard hit that mark in 2003, he was only the third player to do so in the history of the game, following David Campese and Philippe Sella. Now there are almost a century of centurions in the world game.

As Youngs and Care exit stage left, you wonder if those following will have the wherewithal, the talent and the luck (from injury) to eclipse them. It’ll take some doing. The fact that the ton-up is no longer the singular event it once was – big ups to conditioning coaches as well as the more sensitive welfare concern shown by directors of rugby – should not deceive us into thinking that it is therefore a gimme that the likes of Alex Mitchell or Jack van Poortvliet might emulate Youngs and Care.

Even if Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park is the favourite to start against the Wallabies in the opening Lions Test, Mitchell could well confound those odds if he manages to take his Saints form through to those early games in Australia.

It is a measure of the class and durability of both players that they have endured for so long to the point where their successors, such as Mitchell and Van Poortvliet (with a nod also to the Harry Randalls and Raffi Quirkes of this world) are only just truly beginning to establish themselves – Mitchell in particular – as high-quality international scrum-halves.

Mitchell has managed to grasp the nettle over the last 12 months and is now the clear No.1 pick, as shown by his selection for the Lions tour to Australia where, even if Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park is the favourite to start against the Wallabies in the opening Test in Brisbane on 19 July, Mitchell could well confound those odds if he manages to take his Saints form through to those early games in Australia.

What, then, does he and the other contenders for the England spot have to do if they are ever to match the Youngs-Care highlights reel?

They will have to go some, that’s for sure. Both Youngs and Care were gifted sportsmen from an early age, Youngs following in father Nick’s footsteps in being an accomplished rugby player, while Care’s early prowess was as a footballer, earning a place in the Sheffield Wednesday Academy at the same time as a certain Jamie Vardy who, ironically, is also contemplating what comes next.

Care owed his progress through the rugby ranks, initially from Leeds Tykes and on to Harlequins, through Stuart Lancaster. It was all the more galling then when one of Care’s blips was to be arrested for drink driving very early on the Lancaster England watch. The blemish of briefly being kicked out of the squad didn’t impact too much. In fact, it might have been the making of Care, who knuckled down and became not just a splendid player but also a fine ambassador for the sport.

Ben always had an air of time about him, unruffled, never rushing or panicking

There were two things that marked out Youngs – his temperament and his speed. “Ben had got pace and he could see gaps that no-one else could see,” said Richard Cockerill, one of a clutch of Leicester directors of rugby he played under.

For another former Tigers’ stalwart, ex-England full-back, Dusty Hare, who also had a role in spotting and nurturing talent, it was Youngs’ presence that first caught the eye. “Ben always had an air of time about him, unruffled, never rushing or panicking,” said Hare.

Neither player is without flaws and if there is criticism to be made of Youngs’ play, it is that there were times when you yearned for him to show the same audacity and zip he displayed in his early games for England. He scored a fabulous try on his full debut against Australia in Sydney, leaving Wallabies clutching at shadows as he sped away from the tail of a lineout to score. Care, by contrast, managed to retain a sense of opportunism, although the Harlequin had to rail against the strictures of the modern coach-influenced playbook to maintain such game-changing impudence. Care suffered under Eddie Jones.

Youngs became the textbook banker for a coach, the director of the game plan. If only he had had the nerve to break free more often.

Youngs became the textbook banker for a coach, the director of the game plan. If only he had had the nerve to break free more often. His kicking became a formidable asset and while he was slated at times for his two-step shuffle before passing, he always had the strength of character to rise again and be a dominant force in his own right, as shown in those giddy times of the World Cup knockout games against Australia and New Zealand in 2019.

Mitchell has a mix of both Youngs and Care about him: sharp on the break, clever in his game-management. You can only hope that England’s recent liberation from the straitjacket rugby played in the early days of the Steve Borthwick regime will enable the Saint to flourish and become a fixture on the international scene. On the evidence of the last year, there is no reason why Mitchell should not be one of the driving forces for England through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia and beyond.

Who will be there alongside? Van Poortvliet appears to have regained his mojo after injury and can challenge Mitchell’s status at some point. Certainly the England tour to Argentina will be revealing. Bath’s Ben Spencer has had his shot and with him turning 33 in the summer, age is now against him. England are sure to take three scrum-halves to Argentina, which suggests that Randall and Quirke will have the chance to press their claims.

Youngs and Care have shown what is possible with their skill and their commitment to the cause. They have left a worthy legacy.