Ex-England Rugby Star Tom Youngs Swaps the Scrum for a Burger Stall
BBC Business reported Wednesday that former England international Tom Youngs has launched a burger stall on his Norfolk family farm. The ex-Leicester Tigers hooker says the project has already proven a hit with local families.
From International Rugby to “Scrums and Buns”
Youngs, 39, set up the stall — named “Scrums and Buns” — in a field on the farm near Aylsham, Norfolk. He told BBC Radio Norfolk the idea had long appealed to him. Finding the confidence to act on it was the final hurdle. A partnership with cousin George and a professional caterer brought the concept to life. The entire family now pitches in across the stall, bar and customer-facing duties.
Youngs said the venture fits a broader strategy his farm now relies on. “Diversification is the key thing to our business,” he told the BBC. Farming income alone no longer tells the whole story for many rural operations.
A Rugby Career Spanning Club, Country and the Lions
Youngs earned 28 England caps during a decorated career that included the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He was Leicester’s player of the season when the Tigers lifted the Premiership title in 2013. That same year he toured Australia as part of the British and Irish Lions squad.
His younger brother Ben Youngs, England’s most-capped player, retired from Leicester Tigers last season. Ben now drops by the stall on weekends, grabs a burger and brings his children. Young rugby fans have been making the trip too, hoping to secure an autograph from one of the brothers.
Farm Work and Life After the Final Whistle
Youngs retired from professional rugby in 2022 and returned full-time to the arable farm owned by his father, Nick Youngs, himself a former Leicester and England scrum-half during the 1980s. Tom Youngs has previously spoken openly about the grief he experienced following the death of his wife, Tiffany, shortly after his retirement. He credited farm work with helping him manage those difficult months.
Bringing Families Back to the Land
Beyond the commercial logic, Youngs frames the venture as a way to rebuild the connection between urban families and rural life. He said getting children onto working farms matters to him personally. A casual visit for a locally sourced burger can, he argued, open a wider conversation about nature, food production and land management.
The stall launched to a warm reception, and Youngs described it as “a really nice way to spend the weekend.”
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