Leicester Tigers: Ben Youngs, George Martin and Joe Heyes sign new deals with club
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Ben Youngs retired from international duty as England's most capped male player with 127 appearances for his country
Ben Youngs has signed a new Leicester Tigers deal, ensuring the former England scrum-half will remain with his boyhood club for a 19th season.
The 34-year-old, who retired from international duty at the end of the recent World Cup, has agreed new terms alongside George Martin and Joe Heyes.
"This club means the world to me," Youngs said.
Lock Martin has signed a new "multi-year" deal, while his England team-mate Heyes has re-signed "long-term".
Youngs - a five-time Premiership winner with Tigers - was the third of the high-profile new contracts to be announced on Thursday, with Tigers saying the scrum-half is "stitched into the fabric" a club where he has made more than 300 appearances.
His father Nick previously played for the club, while the play-maker featured alongside his brother Tom for club and country for a number of years.
"I'm just happy to be able to contribute any way I can, whether it's playing or helping to guide the young lads through," Youngs told the club website., external
Prop Heyes, 24, has made 132 Premiership appearances for Leicester and, alongside Martin, came off the bench in Leicester's 2022 Premiership final win over Saracens.
He said it was an "easy decision" to re-sign for the club.
"There's nowhere else I would want to play rugby at this stage of my career," he said.
Like Youngs and Heyes, 22-year-old Martin came through the club's academy and has featured 69 times for Tigers.
"George is an exceptional young player with the potential to grow in our program," said head coach Dan McKellar.
"At 22, he's already got the physical tools and the mentality to perform at a high level and I've been really impressed with him since he's returned to the club from the World Cup."
Nottingham-born Martin featured six times for England at the recent World Cup, and started in their narrow semi-final defeat by South Africa.
The lock says he is "excited" to work with Australian McKellar, who took charge of Tigers in the summer and has overseen five successive wins since mid-November - including two group-stage victories in the European Champions Cup.