Thomas Young’s name has been added to the United Rugby Championship’s roll of honour, just days after the bitter disappointment of being left out of Wales’ plans for the World Cup.
When Warren Gatland announced his 54-strong provisional training squad to start preparing for the global tournament in France this autumn, 30-year-old Young wasn’t in it despite a stellar campaign at regional level.
But the Cardiff flanker's haven’t gone completely unrewarded, with the four-cap player winning the URC’s Turnover King prize after a season that’s seen him pilfer opposition ball 17 times.
The Bulls’ Marco Van Staden tied with Young on steals, but the Welshman had achieved one more jackal (7-6) than his rival, so the bauble went to him.
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The accolade stays in Wales after the Ospreys' Jac Morgan won it last term.
Young also came close to winning a second URC award. The Tackle Machine prize is given to the player who boasts the best tackle success rate among those who have attempted 150 or more hits over the course of the campaign.
Munster’s John Hodnett emerged triumphant with 151 tackles at a success rate of 96%.
But Young gave the 24-year-old a run for his money, finishing joint second on 199 tackles at a completion rate of 95 percent, the same as Ulster’s Nick Timoney.
Call that an impressive effort as well.
It’s interesting stuff for Gatland to digest after Wales failed to include Young among eight back-row specialists in their preliminary plans for the gathering of rugby's top players later this year.
There’s a cap on how many the head coach can look at this summer — of course there is — but the all-action Cardiff man has been playing as well as anyone on the regional beat, underlining how unlucky he is to miss out with Wales.
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