Tigers star Ben Youngs backs RFU’s eligibility rules

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England and Leicester Tigers scrum-half Ben Youngs feels that the Rugby Football Union’s eligibility rules are for the good of the game and shouldn’t be altered to keep star players in the frame.

Youngs has agreed to a pay cut to stay at Leicester but the club has seen England star Manu Tuilagi opt against remaining at Welford Road.

Tuilagi has been linked with a move to France but, should he accept a contract in the Top 14, he will be putting his Red Rose career on ice with the RFU barring foreign-based players from representing the country.

That rule has been in effect since 2011 and has been successful in keeping most of top England players in the Premiership as they choose the prospect of an international career over big contracts in France or elsewhere.

Youngs said that he isn’t sure what Tuilagi will do but is convinced that he won’t be lining up alongside the centre next season.

“Manu’s a grown man, I’m not checking in for any other reason than as a mate, just to make sure ‘oh you’re all good mate, yeah, good’ that’s it,” he told Sky Sports.

“Like I said, those guys have got decisions to make. You know Manu is a father, he has to do what is best for him and his family and Telusa [Veainu] is exactly the same. So from my point of view, I just speak to them as any other mate and just to make sure they are all good.”

 

Youngs believes he doesn’t feel that Tuilagi has decided to leave Leicester rashly and claims that he has no idea where Tuilagi will ply his trade in the future.

He said: “Everyone knew the repercussions if you didn’t agree to it [a pay cut] then there was a good chance you are going to be stood down, and that happened, and they knew that, so they wouldn’t have made that decision unless they really weighed it up and I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a decision made lightly.

“From a friend’s point of view, I just want to see them, which they will I have no doubt, go and continue playing rugby. Where that is, I’m not sure.”

When Youngs was asked if he felt at all let down by Tuilagi’s decision to leave the club and potentially give up on his England career, he replied: “Absolutely not, no. He has given a huge career to Leicester and his family has been a dynasty. There comes a time in anyone’s career when you change it up.

“Manu has been an amazing servant to Leicester along with all of his brothers, and he now has an opportunity to go somewhere else. I don’t feel any disappointment and the club will look to strengthen in those positions.”

Youngs said that he wouldn’t support bending the rules on eligibility, even for a star player and friend in Tuilagi.

“It’s an interesting debate isn’t it?” Youngs added. “Like you say I think Australia had a 60-cap limit as well and you could go abroad and still be eligible.

“At the moment the rule is the rule, and you know you want the best players playing in England; you want the best players competing against each other in the Premiership, and that rule allows that to happen.

“If that is to be changed going forward, ultimately you probably won’t have as much control over the guys.

“There is a limited amount of control that the RFU has over players anyway, and you only have a week leading into tournaments and all that.

“If you’re playing abroad and you change it [eligibility rules], are clubs potentially going to release you when you need to be released? There are a lot of ‘ifs and buts’, but I think for the moment the rules work well.”

The 30-year-old scrum-half said all England players were aware of the eligibility rules and would know the implications of signing for a foreign club.

“I know as an England player that if I have an opportunity to go abroad and get offered a contract by a Top 14 club, I know that if I sign that I am walking away from the potential to play for England.

“Every player knows the rules and repercussions of it and no-one will ever make a decision without, I’m sure, really thinking about it and making sure it is the right one.

“So for me, I think the rule is a good rule. It’s important you get the best players playing in England and competing against each other and, if you decide to go abroad, you know that you leave that behind.”

Kyle Eastmond, Greg Bateman, Noel Reid and Telusa Veainu have also opted to leave Leicester, with the latter signing a deal to join French club Stade Francais.

READ MORE: Tigers lock in England duo George Ford and Ben Youngs

England Ben Youngs

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