Rugby Sevens Is Very Similar To Cricket's IPL, Says Youngs Khaleej Times_Aya

Ben Youngs, England's most-capped rugby player of all-time, was a recent visitor to Dubai as he attended the Emirates Dubai 7s Long Lunch, a fundraising event in support of the 7s For Good CSR initiative, which funds projects in disadvantaged communities.

For Youngs, this is the time of year when he would usually be preparing for the first game of the new Premiership season with Leicester Tigers, the club where he spent his whole career.

After hanging up his boots at the end of last season, however, Youngs is now adjusting to life after rugby, and getting to grips with the fact he will no longer be stepping out onto the pitch as a player.

But he has now found different avenues in which to be competitive in life.

One of those new avenues is the world of podcasting, where Youngs and his former team-mate, and close friend, Dan Cole, now host For the Love of Rugby, a show aimed at taking listeners behind the scenes while also providing valuable insight into what is happening on the pitch, and why.

The podcast has been a huge success since launching in 2024 and the duo will be broadcasting from this year's Emirates Dubai 7s, which takes place from November 28-30 at The Sevens Stadium, and where Youngs is looking forward to watching what he believes is a fantastic format of the sport.

“I love rugby sevens,” he says.“It's fast paced, so entertaining and they're unbelievable athletes. You could get the best 15s player to go and play sevens, and not everyone can do it. Antoine Dupont obviously did, he smashed it, he's the greatest player I've ever witnessed. But there are other guys who found the transition hard and didn't necessarily nail it.

“I just think, how can you go to watch rugby sevens and not be entertained? There's a party atmosphere and I guess it's very similar to the IPL, where it's good fun, the crowd are very involved and it's brilliant. I tip my hat to the sevens boys.”

Youngs' decision to retire at the end of last season brought the curtain down on a truly outstanding career, which saw him win five Premiership titles, four Six Nations championships, represent England at four World Cups and receive two call-ups for the British Lions (he played in 2013 and withdrew for personal reasons in 2017), while also achieving the hugely impressive accolade of becoming England's most-capped player with 127 appearances.

While Youngs' playing career may have drawn to a close, the podcast ensures he remains involved in a sport where he has so much to offer.

His autobiography will be released soon, and Youngs is looking forward to sharing his story – the highs and lows both on and off the pitch – with others.

“It's called Beyond the Line: My Life in Rugby, and essentially it is beyond the line because the book takes it a little deeper,” he explains.“Of course, I talk about all my rugby experiences with England and Leicester, but equally, there's plenty of insight into the personal side of things.

“I unfortunately lost my sister-in-law, when my brother was playing, so it goes into dealing with that. It's as honest and open as I could ever do it, and I'm really proud of the book.

“It's a true journey of how everything unfolded, and how I went from a schoolboy who loved rugby to hanging up my boots at the end.”

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