England scrum-half Ben Youngs says he feels honoured to end his international career “on my own terms” when he plays his final Test match in the World Cup third-place playoff on Friday.
The 34-year-old admitted it had taken the team a while to digest the disappointment of England’s semi-final exit with the narrow 16-15 defeat to South Africa last weekend.
“The disappointment from Saturday night hurts and it still lingers within the boys but we have an opportunity to still finish the tournament with a win and get back on the horse as such and put out another performance we can be proud of,” he said.
Youngs started the 2019 World Cup final that England lost to the Springboks but has been relegated to the bench for the tournament in France, so he is relishing the chance to start against Argentina in his final game and his 127th appearance.
“This will be my last game in an England shirt,” he said. “Steve (Borthwick) told me that I was playing and after he told me I told him, as I hadn’t spoken to him about it, ‘look, this will be my last game’.
“I’m grateful for the chance to do that. I’ve got brilliant memories. I am so honoured and privileged to have done it for this long.
“I’m also really privileged and feel honoured that I get to end it on my terms and walk away which feels like absolutely the right time to do so.”
He picked out the upset win against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-final as one of his proudest moments in an England shirt and “one of the greatest team performances I’ve ever been a part of”.
Other highlights were the Grand Slam win in Paris in 2016 “but you can’t beat going to Australia and whitewashing them 3-0 (in 2016). That was pretty special as well.”
He is one of a group of England players quitting the international stage after Friday’s bronze medal game.
Courtney Lawes has already said he will end his England career and 32-year-old Manu Tuilagi and 36-year-old Dan Cole could follow.
Youngs said he was stepping down because “I’ve done it for so long”.
He added: “There is great talent within the nine jersey and it just feels right. I feel so content. The fact that I had this in my head for a long time and the fact that I didn’t even hesitate about it makes me realise it’s absolutely the right decision.
“I’ve got great memories. It’s been a long journey. But 13 years just goes like that. You’ve seen me at my highest highs and lowest lows so it’ll be nice to finish on a high this weekend.”
Despite many good performances in the England shirt Youngs received the greatest praise for a tour he did not go on.
He pulled out of the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2017 so he could spend time with his brother, fellow England international Tom, whose wife Tiffany had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.