Tom Youngs was engaged in battle for the British and Irish Lions’ No.2 jersey all summer and he admits he faces another tough task in ousting Dylan Hartley as first-choice England hooker.
Such was the Lions’ strength in depth, Youngs, Richard Hibbard and Rory Best could all be called upon in Australia.
And it was Youngs who started two Tests to Hibbard’s one as the tourists emerged with a series victory for the first time in 16 years.
The 26-year-old was back in action for the Red Rose in the autumn internationals last month but only started the first of his country’s three Tests.
However, Youngs is adamant he can regain the starting jersey from Hartley and give England head coach Stuart Lancaster a selection headache for next year’s Six Nations and beyond.
“You always want to start but it sometimes doesn’t go your way and you have to get on with that. Dylan played exceptionally well,” he said.
“Now it is about playing well at Leicester and making the selection as hard as possible for the coaches for the Six Nations.
“It is a competition between us and we enjoy playing against each other and having that battle, but we get on. If we didn’t, it would create a bad vibe around the team.”
