Youngs vows to stay grounded

Ben Youngs is one of the hottest properties in English rugby after his man-of-the-match performance in last weekend's record 35-18 victory over Australia.

Youngs will win his sixth international cap - equalling the tally his father, Nick, earned as the England scrum-half in 1983-84 - against Samoa on Saturday with many tipping him for the very top.

But Youngs has vowed he will not allow the adulation to go to his head, and said: "I think I have handled the attention so far and that is partly because of the support my family have given me. I'm a grounded lad anyway so there will never be a case of me stepping out above my station. I never intend to and I hope I never do."

He added: "I play rugby because I love it. I keep playing because I love it and the day I stop enjoying it is the day I hang up my boots.

"I can't start thinking I've achieved something now because I have achieved nothing yet."

Youngs' electrifying performance last weekend was encapsulated by his role in Chris Ashton's wonder-try.

England snatched a turnover on their own line and with Quade Cooper bearing down, Youngs opted not to kick but sold the Australian fly-half a dummy before attacking the blindside. When Courtney Lawes drew two defenders and passed, Ashton raced in from 85 yards to score one of Twickenham's best tries.

World Cup winner Matt Dawson said recently that no other England scrum-half of the past 50 years would have had the audacity to pull off that move.

Youngs was humbled by Dawson's words of praise, as if to prove that a swollen ego is not something he will have to manage.

"That's very kind of him to say that. I don't really like watching myself in a review, I get quite embarrassed," he admitted. "I had a small part to play in that try. Okay, I went for it and that was the thing that got us going. Sometimes in rugby your instinct takes over."