At Leicester, they don’t do mushy sentiment, even when it comes to a farewell for two loyal legends and England’s most-capped players.
For Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, today is the last hurrah, after nearly two decades of dedicated service. They will go out in style in the Premiership final at Twickenham, where they played so often over the years for the Tigers and in a combined tally of 245 appearances for England; 118 by the prop and 127 by the scrum-half.
All their dedication, ability and long-term resilience have yielded a torrent of titles and personal awards, including league triumphs, Six Nations trophies, a Grand Slam and a World Cup final. But now, it is all about to stop.
Leicester will use their impending retirement as a motivational tool today, as they seek to upset favourites Bath, but behind the scenes there hasn’t been too much of a song and dance. That’s not the Tigers’ way. There’s a job to do.
When the pair met Mail Sport for a final, joint interview this week, it started with an enquiry about leaving gifts and speeches, pomp and ceremony. There’s not been much of that.
‘I feel like the fuss is done,’ said Youngs. ‘Cheik (Michael Cheika) gave us a chance to say what was happening, in front of the team, but I don’t think we said more than 10 words combined!
For Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, today is the last hurrah, after nearly two decades of dedicated service
They will go out in style in the Premiership final at Twickenham, where they played so often over the years for the Tigers and in a combined tally of 245 appearances for England
Leicester will use their impending retirement as a motivational tool today, as they seek to upset favourites Bath
‘From a player’s point of view, you come to terms with it, then it’s just about the opportunity to thank the fans, which we got against Newcastle. There aren’t any speeches or anything. You feel like you’ve had your moment.’
Cole explained the annual leavers’ ritual, adding: ‘There’s a shirt presentation. Traditionally at the club, every year, the guys who are leaving get their shirt framed up.
‘The best year was when Cockers (Richard Cockerill) laid out all the shirts, with the guys who’d been at the club longest to be presented last. He stacked them all up, then the analyst came in and had to move them to get to his desk, so they were all left in the wrong order. Cockers was filthy with him for that! I can’t remember who was up first…’
‘I think it was Ben Kay,’ said Youngs. ‘Yeah, it was Ben Kay,’ said Cole. ‘Cockers was there just staring at the analyst as if to say, “You f**ked this up”!
‘For us, this year, there have been semi-finals and a final to prepare for. There’s stuff to do, so you don’t want to be a big distraction.’
The veterans both thought long and hard before deciding it was time to call a halt to their decorated careers. For Cole, now 38, there was a new contract on offer around Christmas last year, but then the prospect of Cheika moving on, along with several players, and a new regime being launched under former team-mate Geoff Parling led to a re-assessment.
‘It felt like it was changing in the squad,’ he said. ‘Well, it felt like it was changing with the two guys who I actually speak to! It felt like Leicester were preparing to reload under Geoff. I spoke to him, but I felt as a 38-year-old second or third choice, it was the right time to stop.
‘You don’t want to get to the point where you’re not enjoying it anymore and just clinging on. It’s also about the physical decline. You don’t want to get to a point where you fall off a cliff and you’re s**t!’
Both men had offers to continue playing, but knew now was the time to go
Both players made their Leicester debuts in 2007, and will go out together 18 years later
The pair signed off from Welford Road by beating Sale in last week’s Premiership semi-final
Youngs had a tempting offer from France. ‘There was an opportunity to go to Racing 92, but for me, I just knew,’ he said. ‘I knew I was done. I’ve only ever played here, so I had to think about whether I could go somewhere else for just one season and I just thought, “No”. When I weighed it all up, it just didn’t seem worth it.’
Some professional players are ready for retirement, embracing a new phase in life and the myriad possibilities. Others struggle with the loss of routine and structure and camaraderie which has sustained them for so long.
‘For me, it’s a bit of both,’ said Cole. ‘Right now, it’s fine, because it’s the end of the season then we’d have an off-season anyway. That bit is alright. But when it gets to five or six weeks later… It’s strange because you’ve really had a routine since starting school at the age of four; from then to 18 at school then into rugby full-time.
‘I’ll be thinking, “I make my own schedule? Ok, but what the f**k do I do? I’ll take the kids to school, er… pick them up from school, er… but what about in between?!”. But the semi-fun part of going into the unknown is having to rely upon yourself and actually do something rather than always being fed and looked-after.
‘I’ve been fed for 38 years of my life, now I have to work out what to do. It’s like I’ll have autonomy, but I don’t know what to do with it! In six months’ time, I’ll be looking around thinking, “Can someone please just give me a schedule and tell me what to do!”’
Youngs is keen to build on the pair’s work together on their successful podcast, For the Love of Rugby. They form a natural double act, as is apparent in conversation with them together.
‘I’m excited by retirement, but I don’t really know what it’s going to look like,’ said the 35-year-old. ‘But when the final whistle goes at the weekend and it’s done, I won’t have any what-if thoughts. I know that I’m ready for the next bit – I just don’t fully know what the next bit is.
‘We’ll still be connected to rugby by doing the pod, which helps. Because ultimately, what are you going to miss? You’re going to miss the lads. The fact we have that platform means we can still interact with lads who come on the pod and still feel a bit of that, which will help the transition.’
Youngs and Cole won three Six Nations titles together with England including the 2016 Grand Slam, and reached the 2019 World Cup final
Cole signs off as England’s most-capped forward, on 118 – four ahead of fellow prop Jason Leonard
Youngs stands alone on 127 caps for England and two for the Lions – placing him joint-15th in Test rugby history
But both players will miss the high-intensity thrill of playing the game. They know, deep down, that it is unlikely they will ever find anything in life to truly replicate that buzz.
‘What I’ll miss and I find addictive is the pressure, when the game’s on the line, the crowd is invested, they’re going nuts and you have to keep your cool,’ said Youngs. ‘You don’t always get it right – I’ve got it wrong loads of times – but that draws you in.’
Cole added: ‘There’s an adrenalin rush that you don’t get anywhere else and you will miss it. But it’s a bit like drinking; it’s fun but the hangovers are crap. As you get older, the hangovers get worse. Now, you play and then you can’t turn your head for three days. You try to put your pants on in the morning and you can’t bend over, that sort of thing!’
Youngs and Cole sit proudly atop England’s all-time caps list
Youngs is convinced that Cole should reinvent himself as a quiz show host. ‘He’s actually taken on the Beast (professional quizzer Mark Labbett, from ITV’s The Chase) twice – because he’s come into camp – and beaten him twice,’ he said. ‘Coley’s knowledge is amazing.’
What about Youngs’ next career? ‘You’re a social guy, you’re a connector of people,’ said Cole to his friend. ‘I don’t know job-wise, but you’re very good at talking to people across levels.’ Youngs replied: ‘It screams of an ambassadorial role. A “relationships manager”, when my liver gets destroyed to look after clients!’
The retirees believe that Leicester are well set for the future, after some turbulence in the latter years of their careers.
‘I like the look of Geoff coming in,’ said Youngs. ‘I like that appointment. There were a lot of names thrown about and it took a long time to get there. But however long it took, that is a good appointment, knowing him.
‘We’ve had tough periods here. We’ve had changes of coaches and we flirted with relegation. All the other bits outweigh that, but it has lost its way at times. But the club is in a good spot now.’
New Leicester head coach Geoff Parling (making the tackle) is an old England and Tigers team-mate of Cole (centre) and Youngs (background right)
Parling (second right) and Youngs (furthest right) together in Sydney on the 2013 Lions tour
Michael Cheika has led the Tigers to the Premiership final in his first – and only – season in charge at Welford Road
Much is made of the Tigers’ culture, but Cole made the point that the best period of recent times came under Steve Borthwick and Aled Walters – who came in from outside – and now under Cheika, an Australian. ‘The club is not a monolith; it has to change and evolve,’ he said.
‘Leicester is not flashy. If you come here, there isn’t the distraction of a big city. When it comes to rugby, there’s a lot of history and we have a small pitch.
‘The biggest cheers we’ve had were for two maul tries against Sale, because that’s what the fans appreciate.
‘We have the ABC club, the history of that and the physical grind. The club is about hard work. It is anchored and attracts a certain type of people because of where it is, what it is and how it is, and that’s good.’
Both men would be open to coaching in due course, if the club wanted their help. Both cited a home defeat against Northampton which left them facing the dire threat of relegation in 2020 as their lowest point at the club.
The highs were the 2022 Premiership final for Cole and a memorable away win at Clermont the following year for Youngs. Both nominated neighbouring Saints, without hesitation, as their primary rivals.
But today’s opponents for their joint Last Dance come into that category too. ‘Bath has always been another one, because of the traditional history way back when,’ said Youngs.
He warned against any hope that their retirement party is set to a scripted, glorious sign-off. ‘You can start fitting the narrative to whatever you want,’ said Youngs.
Leicester lift the Premiership title in 2022, one of five won by Youngs and four for Cole
Neither player had to hesitate when asked for their biggest rivals – Northampton Saints
This pair have been in plenty of finals and they’ve taken plenty of swings. Now, today, they will do it one last time
‘It’s Coley and Ben’s retirement or Cheika’s only season. That is the perfect ending in a sense. But nobody is going to just gift it. None of us are getting romantic about it all and thinking it will just happen.’
He is right, of course, so Cole delivered a tongue-in-cheek appeal to the opposition’s sentimental side, saying: ‘However, if Bath want to roll over! They’ve won two titles already this year. Imagine if they just let us win, for a good time’s sake, for the game!
‘We know Bath are going to be favourites, but that’s why we play the game. You roll the dice. I’d prefer to be in a final and take a swing.’
This pair have been in plenty of finals and they’ve taken plenty of swings. Now, today, they will do it one last time.
