Youngs, brother of England scrum-half Ben, was plying his trade as a centre before converting to a hooker under the advice of former Leicester coach Heyneke Meyer.

Despite being impressed by the 25-year-old’s form in the front row, Lancaster wasn’t planning on using the Tiger for all four autumn Tests until injury ruled out Dylan Hartley.

Similarly Launchbury was handed his chance in the engine room after injury ruled out another Northampton man – lock Courtney Lawes.

And after including both Youngs and Launchbury in his starting XV for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland, Lancaster accepts both seized their chance when it came.

“We didn't plan to give Tom all four games in the autumn, but that's how it turned out,” he said.

“He's been exceptional for us. In the same way, we didn't look at Joe Launchbury and think he'd be starting international matches as quickly as he has. It's always the case: one man's injury is another man's opportunity.

“Some of the choices were very difficult. After New Zealand I felt I needed to reward the player who had the shirt, but it's not a given that I'll always stick with a winning team.

“The important thing was to see how people have been performing since the All Blacks game, with their clubs and in camp. The fact is that just recently, players like Tom Youngs and Owen Farrell have shown excellent form in big games.”