Ben Youngs couldn't quite take in the magnitude of what Martin Johnson was telling him as he got the news that he must have been dreaming about since he was a boy.
Ben Youngs couldn't quite take in the magnitude of what Martin Johnson was telling him as he got the news that he must have been dreaming about since he was a boy.
The Norfolk born and bred scrum-half has been named in the England squad for Saturday's Calcutta Cup battle against Scotland.
At only 20 years old his selection among the replacements at Murrayfield takes the former Gresham's School pupil within touching distance of matching his father Nick - who won six England caps, also at scrum-half.
Yet when England manager Johnson told the exciting Leicester star the news it didn't immediately sink in.
'I told Ben he was on the bench and he said 'but Leicester haven't got a game this weekend',' said Johnson. 'I had to say 'no, you are on the bench for us!'
Though widely tipped to became a mainstay of England's future, the uncapped Youngs' selection ahead of London Irish No 9 Paul Hodgson was one of the surprises in Johnson's squad announcement.
He helped his cause when he went head-to-head with Hodgson in Leicester's 35-19 victory over London Irish on Saturday.
'It is a harsh call on Paul Hodgson who has been fantastic for us on and off the field,' said Johnson. 'But Ben is playing well enough and we feel he deserves a chance.'
Ben's dad can testify that Murrayfield has been a graveyard for England in recent years - being on the losing side there in 1984.
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