Thomas Young insists he has given little recent thought to following his father Dai in playing international rugby for Wales.
The Wasps flanker is being widely tipped to make Rob Howley’s Six Nations squad when it is announced on Tuesday after his eye-catching recent form in the Aviva Premiership.
Young, 24, almost didn’t make it into the Coventry-based club’s squad two years ago – so reluctant was the club’s director of rugby to open both father and son to perceptions of favouratism by making the family link a professional one.
But Young senior signed Young junior and since then both have benefitted from the player’s rapid development which has put him in line for his first call into a senior Wales squad.
“Everyone wants to play international rugby, and I’m no different, but Wasps have massive games coming up and I am focusing totally on them,” Young says.
“I put all the talk about Wales to the back of my mind, and concentrate on coming in every week and performing to keep hold of the shirt, as the squad we have means people are pushing for places everywhere.
“Getting regular game-time is what every player wants, and when the team is playing well and winning it makes your individual role a lot easier,” he told the Coventry Telegraph.
Young played the whole game for Wasps on Saturday as they beat former European champions Toulouse 17-14 at the Ricoh Arena to confirm their place in the last eight of the Champions Cup.
His workrate and ability at the breakdown has been a key feature of Wasps’ success this season and he appears to fit seamlessly within a team of richly talented individuals.
Wales may be fortunate to have both Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric as Lions-quality openside choices, but if form is to count for anything in selection then Young must be forcing a discussion over how he can be accommodated within the back row places of the initial squad.
With his squat frame and powerful build, the former Cardiff Blues forwards has been compared to Australian star George Smith, the Wallabies legend who spent a year with Wasps.
He adds: “I learned a lot in the 12 months George was with us. We are similar style players with similar statures, and I knew he was the player I wanted to be.
“I had to pick up as much as I could and feed off him while he was here, as I knew he was only in England for one season.
“He did a lot of stuff with me on the training field, and even when you played against him in training you noticed things about his lines of running and support play.
“He also helped a lot with analysis, and we spent a lot of time looking at the breakdown, getting my technique right, and showing me different ways of doing things.”
The departure of the 111-times-capped Wallaby left James Haskell as Wasps’ most-capped player, who, conveniently enough for Young is another back-row forward.
“I am very grateful for what George did, and I learned a lot from him,” he says, “but James Haskell has also been a huge help to me.
“He’s got 70-odd England caps, so whatever advice I can get from him is useful, as he’s an experienced player and you don’t get that number of caps for nothing.
“I still think of myself as someone who is young and learning. George used to do bits after training, and Hask was always there as well, so whatever I could pick up bits from both of them could only be good for me.
“Hask is a good character to have around, and it’s been nice to have him back on the training pitch with us in recent weeks.
“He’s been very good with me over the two or three years I’ve been here, and has helped me with my development. As well as being one of our main leaders on the pitch, he does a lot off it with the team as well, so it’s great to have him back.”
