Tiffany Youngs, the wife of former England rugby star Tom Youngs, has died at the age of 35 after a prolonged battle with illness.
In 2014, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma—a form of blood cancer— and fought the disease for three years before being told the illness was terminal. In 2018 however, she then heard she was in a state of remission but her cancer battle continued and on Wednesday, Leicester Tigers released a statement confirming the sad news.
"Leicester Tigers are deeply saddened by the news that Tiffany Youngs has passed away after her heroic battle with illness," it read. "On behalf of everybody at the club, we send our condolences to the Youngs and Sands families. The club will be providing no further details and asks that the Youngs and Sands families have their privacy respected at this time."
In October 2021, the club announced that husband Tom had taken 'indefinite leave' in order to return to his home in Norfolk and care for his wife. He also handed in the club captaincy, having made more than 200 appearances for the Premiership side since joining in 2006, and opted to retire in April this year.
Following Tiffany's terminal diagnosis in 2017, Tom's brother, Ben, was called up to the British and Irish Lions squad that toured New Zealand. However, he forfeited his place to be with Tiffany and family.
The England scrum-half then ruled himself out of contention for this past summer's series in South Africa because of "family reasons." However, despite being informed she had between one and 12 months to live, Youngs' wife then heard in early 2018 that she was in a state of remission.
Sadly, the illness returned, and on social media clubs and individuals alike have offered condolences following her tragic passing: The official Ulster account tweeted: "We are so sorry to hear this news. Sending our heartfelt condolences to the Youngs and Sands families, Tiffany's friends and all at Leicester Tigers at this time."
Birmingham Moseley Rugby added: "Sad news. Condolences to Tom, family and friends," while Chippenham RFC posted: "Rest in peace, Tiffany."
Alongside a green heart emoji, London Irish wrote: "Our love and thoughts are with the Youngs and Sands families," and Wasps echoed the sentiment, saying: "Condolences to the Youngs and Sands families, love from all at Wasps."
Back in 2018, the 28-cap England international had paid an emotional tribute to his wife's resistance, saying: "She is an inspirational lady, I can tell you that. A very strong character.
"She doesn’t moan, she gets on with it. She probably doesn’t believe it herself, but she is an amazing woman. What she’s gone through is pretty horrendous, but she is still there, still smiling, still pretty honest and open and talking about it. She’s doing really, really well at the moment.”
Youngs also started her own website, designed to raise awareness of her story and advise others with a similar condition: In her introduction, she wrote: "I have developed this website to provide some answers to those questions and to share what I've learnt on this crazy journey."
