How Norfolk's stream of talent became a key part of Leicester's success, building a bond between the two areas.
Ben's brother Tom also became an England player and British and Irish Lion, and players like Harry Simmons, Calum Green and Charlie Clare have played key roles in Leicester's revival.In the Premiership, each team has a so-called 'catchment area' to find talent and bring players through their academy.
"We managed to organise a minibus, about six to eight [Tigers academy] players," recalls Van Poortvliet, who started at North Walsham Rugby Club when he was five and is now an England scrum-half. A mural of Leicester and England scrum-half Ben Youngs has been painted outside Holt RFC, where he and brother Tom started out
"We've got everything you need here now," says Ben Pienaar, who grew up in Norfolk before playing for Leicester for seven years, and now leads the rugby programme at Gresham's. "Rugby is everything, and they don't have distractions in quite the same way. It's a rural area, and rugby is often a more rural game."
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