When is a dropped player not really dropped?

Jack de Menezes looks at England’s theory that rugby players no longer need to aim for the starting XV after Ben Youngs was named on the bench for the first time in four years against a major nation

Ben Youngs was not selected to start against Scotland in the Six Nations (Getty)

Ben Youngs downplayed the notion of being “dropped” by England head coach Eddie Jones after being named on the bench against a major nation for the first time in four years.

The scrum-half has been one of Jones’s key leaders in his squad since taking the reins in 2016, with Youngs going on to make 44 of his 97 Test appearances under the Australian.

But after failing to impress in the Six Nations-opening defeat against France, Youngs was named among the replacements for last Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland as Gloucester’s 33-year-old Willi Heinz was handed the No 9 shirt.

Heinz did not enjoy the best of performances in what were atrocious conditions at Murrayfield and Youngs was brought on in the 58th minute in an attempt to wrestle back control from the home side, who had enjoyed the best of the third quarter and were in danger of taking the lead with the clock ticking down.

An Ellis Genge try and a second penalty of the day from Owen Farrell ensured that England returned home with the Calcutta Cup, but questions remained about their scrum-half conundrum, with neither Youngs nor Heinz able to grip the shirt so far this championship and prove they should be England’s first-choice No 9.

However, Youngs bristled when it was suggested that he was dropped for the match, and echoed the view expressed by Jones during last autumn’s Rugby World Cup that the game is no longer about being in the starting XV.

“Since he came in, Eddie has always said it's a 23-man game and he wants the best 80 minutes in each position,” explained Youngs. “He felt the game would happen the way it would happen, that's why he's so good at what he does. He felt we'd need my experience on at the back end of the game rather than at the beginning of the game. And it worked out that way.

“It was nice to get on because it was so cold in the stands. It was nice to run around and be wet but warm!

“You have more of an appreciation of what's going on in the game. You have the luxury of looking at the big screen and looking at the monitors in front of you, so you get a feel for the game a bit more than when you're in the face of it.”

That approach is likely down to Youngs’ vast experience in the red rose, having made his debut 10 years ago when he was also a replacement at Murrayfield. But the same, it seems, cannot be said for those players emerging on the radar.

It took Jamie George 21 England Tests to receive his first start under Jones as he played second fiddle to Dylan Hartley – long enough for him to make three starts for the British and Irish Lions before earning one for his country – while more recently both Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie have expressed their desire to earn a starting spot after serving their international apprenticeships.

Both Genge and Cowan-Dickie buy into the same mantra that Youngs speaks of given it is what Jones has built this entire team around, but when you ask them if they have their sights set on a place in the starting XV, there is still a burning desire within them that becomes visible immediately. After all young kids don’t grow up dreaming of sitting on the bench at Twickenham.