Richard Wigglesworth thinks Ben Youngs' performance against Australia has set the standard for England scrum-halves.
Sale player says youngster has set the standard at scrum-half
Richard Wigglesworth believes that Ben Youngs' outstanding display against Australia has left the rest of the England scrum-halves "playing catch-up".
Youngs' fine solo try helped England on their way to a 21-20 upset win in the second Test at Sydney's Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Leicester No.9 was making his full international debut in Sydney after being picked ahead of Danny Care.
And now Wigglesworth, who started both the recent tour matches against Australian Barbarians, thinks Youngs has staked his claim to keep the shirt for the long term.
"You have to give everything you have got and we are playing catch-up to Youngs," he said.
Impressive
"Fair play to him, he was outstanding. Even if you take away the try the rest of his game was really impressive. He has certainly set the bar very high.
"There is a lot of competition in the country at scrum-half and that competition breeds good performances.
"When I got in the squad I was asked whether I was worried about the depth in the position and I said I wasn't because there were lots of young guys coming through.
"I got laughed at and now I have been proved right. It is one of the strongest positions we have in the country."
England will look to end on a high note when they complete the tour against New Zealand Maori on Wednesday.
Record
Their record currently stands at two wins, one draw and a solitary 27-17 defeat against the Wallabies in the first Test.
Wigglesworth added: "The Test team were outstanding on Saturday, the midweek team are unbeaten and we hope to continue that on Wednesday.
"We played a really balanced game at the weekend and that is the key. We don't want to be seen only as a team that mauls and scrums.
"We want to be good at all those things but we have to have a balanced game like we did on Saturday.
"That is definitely our intention - to play heads-up rugby, have a crack at them."
