Tom Youngs

Tom is a rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby and between 2012–2015 he won 28 caps for England.

“I am very passionate about the countryside and the ways in which we should try to educate everyone, especially school aged children, about the importance of food – how does that pint of milk develop and where does the Sunday roast come from?

“Presently I am based in Leicester as a professional rugby player but I am very fortunate to be able to return to Norfolk to my family’s mixed arable farm. Wide open spaces, green fields, lots of flora and fauna and beautiful skies. Beautiful, small rural villages with communities that have been born and bred there, generations after generations, many of whom are now finding it very difficult to make a living – we do need to support these people who care for the countryside. Many villages have lost their heart; the Post Office, the pub, the local shop – these are so important in keeping a village alive. There are some real characters in the countryside that are very clever – we must try to keep these rural skills alive – once they have gone, they are gone forever.

“We take everything for granted nowadays – everything is very accessible – when someone gives you a punnet of strawberries that they have grown in their own garden; the pleasure of giving and receiving is very rewarding.”