Leicester announce Tom Youngs as captain

England international Tom Youngs has been named as the captain of the English Premiership club Leicester for the upcoming season.

Youngs joined Leicester in 2006 and has played 71 games in the Aviva Premiership while scoring five tries in it and also represented Nottingham Rugby Club between 2010 and 2011 after he was sent on loan. Overall he has made over 100 appearances for the Welford Road based club.

Youngs made his debut for England in 2012 against Fiji at Twickenham and has represented the country 28 times. After included in the 31-man 2015 World Cup squad, the 29-year-old made a start in all the four games for his country, but was omitted for the Six Nations tournament when Eddie Jones took over from Stuart Lancaster.

Director of rugby at Leicester Richard Cockerill confirmed the news on the club's official website and believes Youngs will be well served by the experienced players around him.

"Tom is a Leicester man through and through and has special links with the club, where his father and brother have also played. He is a world-class player who leads by example,"said Cockerill.

"Tom is supported by a good strong group of leaders within the squad, including Ed Slater, who has done an excellent job as club captain over the last couple of seasons, and experienced players like Mathew Tait, Dan Cole, Tom Croft, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs, Owen Williams and Freddie Burns."

Youngs has also made three appearances for the British and Irish Lions team in 2013 against Australia.