Italy vs England: Six Nations finale will a moment to remember regardless of bitter-sweet century for Ben Youngs

It will be a bitter-sweet moment when Ben Youngs runs out in front of Jamie George in Rome this evening. The former will be collecting his 100th England cap, becoming only the second man to do so, while the latter wins his 50th with dreams of one day emulating the man in front of him.

That is the sweet part. The bitter side will come in the emptiness around them, with the Stadio Olimpico set to keep its doors shut to fans amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Obviously I am gutted I won’t be able to share this day with my family and all the rest of it, but these things happen and I am sure they will be watching the game with a glass of Champagne tomorrow afternoon,” George admitted.

Neither will mind when they emerge from the tunnel, with the focus pinpointed on beating Italy - and beating Italy well. If England are to have a chance of winning the Six Nations Championship, they must do so by piling the points on Italy and hope that the result goes their way in Paris, with either France defeating Ireland by a slim margin or Ireland doing the same without scoring four tries.

Only once the final whistle goes will that empty feeling really hit home, in that moment when England internationals normally make a beeline to their friends and families at pitchside to enjoy the moment. But for the two players making their landmark appearances, they can still take solace in the fact that it will still prove a special day for their loved ones.

“It’s going to be a great day for them,” added George. “They’ve sent me a couple of messages through the week.

“Originally their talk was that they were going to fly out to Rome, just to be here in Rome, despite not being able to come to the game, because they are potentially the biggest rugby nouses of all time. But with Rome in lockdown they’ve decided against it. They’ll be watching somewhere in Northampton and they’ve told me they’ll raise a glass at 4.45pm tomorrow. So it’s pretty nice to know they’ll be there watching, and great to know they’re still really proud.”

Thirty-year-old George has become one of the rocks of the England pack since taking over from Dylan Hartley in 2018. But it wasn’t always so simple for the Saracens forward. His first 19 England caps all came from the bench, and he had the unusual honour of starting three British and Irish Lions tests before making his full debut for his country. Back during that frustrating run, with the England captain blocking his path to the starting XV, it didn’t always look so rosy for the hooker.

“No, there was a long time when I thought this,” George added. “I felt like not just for my first start, but for my first cap as well, I felt I had to be pretty patient and to be sat here now on the eve of my 50th cap is very surreal.”

If that feeling is residing within George, then it would be worth a penny for the thoughts of centurion Youngs. The 31-year-old scrum-half is one of the most approachable members of the England squad and has been throughout his decade on the international stage, which made it all the more surprising that he made the personal decision not to speak publicly ahead of his 100th cap. Block out the noise, and perhaps, the human brain can block out the emotion.

Instead, it was left to his teammates to pay tribute to a stalwart of the English game. Youngs will become only the second male player to reach a century of caps to join esteemed company in Jason Leonard, while Rocky Clarke, Amy Garnett and Tamara Taylor have all had that same feeling of achievement in the women’s game.

“Ninety-nine caps is unreal, I was just thinking about it yesterday,” admitted Henry Slade, who has amassed only 29 caps in half the time that Youngs has racked up 100. “(I was speaking to) Jamie George, congratulating him on his 50th this weekend, and thinking ‘bloody hell, a hundred for Lenny (Youngs) is an unbelievable achievement’.

“It is a credit to the professionalism of what he has been doing, on and off the pitch, to get himself right, to always being fit. He has been a massive leader in this squad for a long time, an integral part of the group on and off the field. To see him get a hundred is really special and hopefully we can do a job for him.”

Whether Youngs is able to block out the emotion on Friday night, when the players have their own meeting that has proven so pivotal to their achievements in the past, only the team will know. Along with Youngs and George, four players will be preparing to make their England debut. One of those, Exeter’s Jonny Hill, will definitely do so as he starts in the second row following the club’s double success this season, while three others will have to sit patiently on among the replacements in Tom Dunn, Ollie Lawrence and Ollie Thorley, hoping that Eddie Jones will not make them the latest rookie to get within whisker of their first appearance only to have the moment dashed.

After captain Owen Farrell says his bit, it will be down to Youngs to show the new boys in the camp exactly what it means to represent England just once, let alone 100 times.

George revealed: “We will have an opportunity tonight for the first-cappers and Ben will probably talk about what it means to them to play for England and how happy they are about it, and I always feel that hits home, when you hear people speak so openly and honestly about what it means to them to be here. That adds to the excitement and the build towards kick-off.

“It happens after your first cap. As soon as you get a taste of international rugby, you want even more. I’ve always felt that way. I’ve sat in a lot of meetings where people are getting their 50 caps and I’m so envious. I feel so privileged to be in the same room as those guys and I’m often in awe of them.

“Ben Youngs is one guy I am definitely in awe of; the way he goes about his work and the longevity he has shown in the game. The fact he is so young and still has so much more to come is the most exciting thing for me and it certainly spurs me on to push for that.

“Having played with him for so long, I’m very proud of him and I know he is a very proud Englishman and it means a lot for him to play for his country – as it means for all of us. I am sure it will be an emotional day.”

They will have time to let the emotions settle at least before the Six Nations is decided. ‘Super Saturday’s staggered kick-off template means that no one will know the destination of the trophy for sure until the day’s final game between France and Ireland has concluded, meaning the England squad can clean themselves up, return to the team hotel and toast their colleagues’ achievement before learning if they are champions for the third time under Jones’s tenure. It may not prove to be the crowning moment they hope for, but it’s not often that a player reaches triple figures for the national team, and despite the enforced negatives of an empty stadium and bio-bubble restrictions, England’s task today is to ensure Youngs reaches that milestone in style.

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