Ben Youngs withdraws from British and Irish Lions squad for family reasons
Youngs was one of three scrum halves on the plane to New Zealand
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Leicester Tigers and England scrum-half Ben Youngs has ruled himself out of the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand this summer for personal reasons.
The wife of Youngs’ brother, hooker Tom, who was also on the 2013 tour of Australia, has been battling cancer for three years and now the family has received news that her illness is terminal.
Youngs was included in Warren Gatland’s 41-man squad face the All Blacks this summer but this weekend formed the Lions head coach of his decision to remain at home with his family.
In a statement on Leicester Tigers’ website, Youngs said: “We are a very close family and, as I am sure everyone can respect, time is now precious together.
“The most important thing for me at this difficult time is to be able to offer as much support as I can to Tom and his family in the remaining time we all have together.
“It is a great honour to be selected as a member of the British & Irish Lions squad and I would like to thank Warren Gatland, the staff and the other players for their understanding in this situation.
“I wish them well and, like all rugby supporters in British and Ireland, hope they have a successful tour.”
The brothers will continue to play for Leicester in the Aviva Premiership semi-finals for the remainder of the season.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments