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Youngs celebrates Saxons call

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Ben Youngs thanked the work of his Leicester Tigers team-mates and coaches after his inclusion in the England Saxons squad for the first time.

The 20-year-old scrum-half was selected in the Saxons set-up announced on Wednesday ahead of fixtures against Ireland A on January 31 and in Italy A on February 7 after an impressive run of form with Tigers.

“I’m lucky to play behind such a strong forward pack and alongside so many other good players at Leicester,” said Youngs, who has already been capped through the England ager-groups and played in the IRB World Under-20 Championship last summer. 

“The team have been getting better and better, and it has been great to be a part of that. 

“I work closely with coach Matt O’Connor and Paul Burke, and also the other scrum-halves, Harry Ellis and James Grindal. They have so much experience that I can learn from, and I am really enjoying my rugby.”

Youngs made 17 appearances for Tigers last season and has played a key part in the run to the top of the Guinness Premiership table this term, as well as contributing 17 points in the historic victory over South Africa at Welford Road. 

“I think you take a lot of confidence from good team performances,” he said.

“We had a bit of a difficult spell before Christmas but we’ve won the last four games, confidence is high, and now we have to keep improving week to week.”

Youngs has been called up as an injury replacement for Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson.

The Saxons squad also includes Tigers tighthead prop Dan Cole, a fellow graduate of the Tigers Academy, as well as George Chuter, Ben Kay and Ben Woods.