Ben Youngs confident of England bouncing back after disappointing Six Nations campaign
Ben Youngs is the most capped England player
©PA
England scrum-half Ben Youngs expressed confidence that his team will bounce back from a disappointing campaign in the recently concluded Six Nations series.
Eddie Jones' men suffered three defeats in the competition (against Scotland, Ireland and France) - like last year when they finished fifth - but settled for a third place finish in the 2022 edition with 10 points - which is 11 behind second placed Ireland and 15 behind the Les Bleus, who clinched the Grand Slam for the first time since 2010.
With the 2023 Rugby World Cup under 18 months away, England and Jones faced a lot of criticism before the Rugby Football Union issued a statement providing full backing to the Australian.
“The results haven’t been what we’d have liked, but there’s definitely no need to panic,” said Youngs, who is England's most-capped player.
“What I see is a group of experienced players and young players, an incredible coaching staff who are really clear about where we want to go and how we want to get there.
“It takes a bit of time to get there and we’re not there yet. I’m the first to say we’re not where we want to be, but I’m certainly not sitting here wondering if we’ll get to where we want to get to. I truly believe we will.
“I remember Ireland in 2018 had a really successful autumn, beating the All Blacks. And then in 2019 they didn’t win the Six Nations, Wales did, and at the World Cup they got knocked out in the quarters. Anything can happen.”
