Norfolk rugby star Ben Youngs - England's most capped men's player - is to retire from the international game after tomorrow's World Cup third-place play-off against Argentina .
Youngs, 34, will win his 127th England cap against the Pumas - his first start at this year's World Cup tournament.
The scrum-half is currently behind Alex Mitchell and Leicester team-mate and fellow Norfolk rugby product Jack van Poortvliet in the pecking order.
Rugby is in the blood for the Youngs family - brother Tom also played for Leicester and England while their father, Nick, was also an England scrum-half.
A former Gresham's School pupil, Ben Youngs played locally for Holt and North Walsham.
He won his first cap against Scotland in March 2010 - when current coach Steve Borthwick was captain.
He featured in four World Cups, toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions in 2013 and is one of only five Englishmen to be capped 100 times. He won four Six Nations titles, including the Grand Slam in 2016, and was a beaten finalist in the 2019 World Cup.
Youngs surpassed World Cup-winning prop Jason Leonard to become England's most capped men's player on his 115th appearance in the Six Nations win over Wales in February 2022.
He will finish 10 caps short of women's World Cup-winning prop Rocky Clark's 137-cap England record.
“Ben has been a tremendous player for English rugby for such a long time,” Borthwick said.
“[He’s] our record cap holder. A player who has seen a lot in four World Cup, and who has played an important role within this squad helping the team, particularly Alex Mitchell, progress. He’s a brilliant player and a fantastic team man.”
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