“My specialist subject on
Mastermind would be Films
and television – my favourite
TV series is Game of Thrones.
Having kids now – Boris, four,
and Billie, three – makes it harder
to get to the cinema. The last film
I saw at a cinema was Dunkirk.”“Antoine Dupont is setting the bar for scrum-halves.
He was fantastic in the Top 14 final for Toulouse. He’s
a really exciting player and has only scratched the
surface of where he’s going. I’ve got the years on
him and know that when I’m long retired I’m going
to be sitting there admiring what he’s doing.”“I’m part of a racing syndicate. My
club sponsor, Robert Cowell, is a
horse trainer and suggested having
a horse and running it around
Leicestershire and Nottingham and
Derby. Leg It Lenny ran his first
race in June, at Leicester. It was a
fun day out and he did alright!”“I get more
pleasure creating
something than scoring
myself. My favourite try I’ve
been part of was the one
England (Chris Ashton)
scored from our own
line in 2010 against
Australia.”“I’m up and
running after my
shoulder surgery in the
spring. I did some light return
to contact in mid-June and the
pre-season means I’ve got a
long time until I play a game,
so it gives me even more
time to prepare for the
World Cup.”“I’m
delighted to see
Norwich City back in
the Premier League. I’m
hoping their game at
Leicester will be on a
Monday night so
I can go to it.”“The best place
I’ve been to is
Fiscardo, a lovely fishing
village on Kefalonia. Nexttime my wife, Charlotte, and I
go will be with the kids. Right
now a two-hour flight is
the most we can do
with them!”“I’m an
ambassador for
Robbie’s Rugby Festival.
It’s an annual charity event
at Loughborough and it’s very
popular across the Midlands.
This year’s event is on 27 July.
The fact it raises money for a
cancer trust makes it very
close to the Youngs’s
family heart.”“Athletes
who reach the
heights year after year
are inspirational. I’m a
big fan of the Brownlee
brothers. Then you have
guys like Ronaldo and Roger
Federer, and look at the
comeback that Tiger
Woods made.”“The
next few months
will be unbelievably
exciting. We’ve invested as a
side for four years under Eddie
(Jones) and finally the World Cup
is around the corner. If I get a
seat on the plane, it will be my
second trip to Japan; I was
there for the U20 World
Cup in 2009.”“When I was 15,
my mate had a moped
and I crashed it. I spent
all summer pot-washing in
the local pub to pay for the
cost of the repairs. That was
the first job where I got
a minimum wage rather
than Dad’s wages on
the farm!”Front Row
INSIDE THE MIND OF...
BEN YOUNGS
The England scrum-half is raring to go after his injury lay-off
Interview Alan Pearey // Picture Inpho