Former England hooker Tom Youngs told teammates ‘life can be cruel’ after calling time on his 15-year career at Leicester Tigers.
The former England player announced his retirement last month to care for his wife Tiffany, who is battling an illness.
He had took indefinite leave from the club in October and last featured for Tigers in the Premiership last season.
Prior to leading the team out against Bristol Bears, a game that they won 56-26, Youngs did an emotional team talk with not a dry eye in the room.
“I just talked about how I’d love to do one more tackle for them and one more carry for them but I can’t,” revealed Youngs about his team talk prior to their win at the weekend.
“I talked about Tiff (Youngs’ wife) a little bit. I talked about life, and how when you’re in the moment, in that changing room, you don’t realise how good it is and how lucky you are sometimes.
“Ultimately, you don’t realise how cruel life can be sometimes, so you have to enjoy those moments. There wasn’t really a dry eye in the changing room. It was lovely, and those things will sit with me for a long time.
“I’m now a full-on fan and I love watching the boys play. I love seeing the pride back in a Leicester shirt. It fills me with a lot of joy and happiness.”
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